From Dusk to Dawn (EDITING)
by JettBlack00
Summary: Charms. They are what keep Disney in balance; to keep the magic at bay. But the Villains what it. They were promised power, a park of their own, but once denied, they decided to fight back, creating a power that, once unleashed, will alter the universe where the Villains are the Heroes. But the only thing stopping them is a Saviour and a Guardian, chosen by Walt.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Heffalumps and Woozles**

I put up the entrance chain to signify The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh's temporary closing. All I could do at the moment was just stare into the empty ride, biting my lip with my boss Gordon standing next to me. "If we keep closing rides, we're gonna end up closing the whole park!" I said.

"Tell me something I don't know. This park is decades of years old. It was bound to fall apart at one point."

"Is there actually something wrong with this ride? All you told me was to shut it down."

"There's some faulty wiring in the emergency sprinklers. They just go off at random times."

"And that calls for a complete shut down?"

"Do you want to start an electrical fire?"

"Sir, I don't even think that can-"

"Dusk!" I was cut off when Gordon called for a nearby Cast Member to come over to us. He looked to be a bit older than I am, me being 20. He stood quite tall against me. His eyes were an icy piercing blue, and his hair was a thick ebony black. But his skin was a sickly pale. You could almost call it white. I snapped out of my trance when Gordon spoke once more. "You go with Moira here to do a diagnostics check on the ride. That shouldn't take you too long."

Dusk didn't speak. He kept a solid composure as he made his way to the rides Cart Entrance. "And who is he?"

"He's new. He's quite the silent type, so be easy on him."

"Easy on him? I don't even think I can do anything with him! Are you sure he's capable to work under the likes of my wing?"

"I trust you enough." I narrowed my eyes at him and followed after Dusk.

Thinking about his sudden appearance, I realized I had never seen him before in all the time I've worked in the park. I found it a bit suspicious that he just showed up all of a sudden. But now he was nowhere to be seen.

I got to the rides Cart Entrance only to find it vacant. Did he seriously go in without me? I squeezed my way past the many entry panels, calling out for him, but I got no response. The ride was dark, and my vision hadn't adjusted yet.

I called his name once more, and there was still no response. Making it past the last panel, the atmosphere was . . . different. It felt open. Light. Windy? Yes, despite the ride being shut down, there was still wind. And it was ice cold. The wind effects were never set to full blast, but I don't know why they'd still be on anyway.

I continued on, the familiar smell of rain beginning to form. I wasn't really near the Rain Scene of the ride. Then again, I still couldn't see my surroundings. It wasn't exactly pitch black dark, but it was enough to cause me to feel around.

My hands were gently in front of me, feeling for the next set of panels, but they never came. And I had been walking for a few minutes. This was a small ride, and it felt more open than usual.

I felt someone grip my hands and led me forward. I guess without knowing it, I had closed my eyes at some point, which was a habit of mine when in dark places. I felt hands gently caress my cheeks. I opened my eyes and saw Dusk staring deep into them. "Follow me."

He kept a tight grip on my hand as he continued to lead me through the ride. Where to, I still had no idea. My vision was finally adjusting, and I noticed why it was so dark. I looked above me to see dark grey clouds threatening to burst at any moment. There were trees surrounding me hinting that I was in a forest. I wasn't in a ride at all. But where.

I craned my neck to see Dusk's face, which was stern and cold. I was actually a bit nervous to even talk to him, but what choice did I have? "Hey, could you explain to me what's going on? Or where we are?"

"Knowing you, you'd think it would be a bit obvious."

"Are you implying that we're actually in the Hundred Acre Woods?"

"Exactly." At this point, I pulled my hand out of his and stopped in my tracks. "What's wrong? Hard to believe?"

"Hard to believe? What do you think? I'm wondering if I should even question your mental stability!"

"All you have to do is look around you. Just that should be enough."

"What exactly have you dragged me into? Is this some joke? Some prank to make me look bad? If you think I have a reputation to uphold, think again!"

"Look, it wasn't my choice get you involved. If we can make it to Pooh's house, I can explain everything. It's not safe out here."

"If this is really the Hundred Acre Woods, then where are the characters?"

"Hiding."

"From what?"

"From that!" He pointed towards the sky. The grey clouds were swimming and swirling ferociously, lightning cracking every few minutes. "This world is corrupted, and the only way to fix it is to continue on. I can't help you for not believing, which I think is a joke, but for now, just go along with it, and I will kindly explain this once we're in a safe zone. Deal?"

I again was drawn to his eyes. I don't know why, but they're just so . . . mesmerizing. But they also held truth. Something I'm used to seeing. Ever since I could remember, I could always read people through their eyes. And his don't lie. I don't think he'd lie about this. "Okay, fine. But how much farther?"

"Just a little ways across the river."

Sure enough, there was a river just up ahead. And it was wide. "I wasn't exactly good at the long jump."

"I'll go first. That way I can catch you."

"You sure? You're not pulling my leg, are you?"

"Have I lied to you, yet?" Maybe. But I couldn't ask questions now. I stood back, giving Dusk some room. He took 5 steps back, then took a running start before jumping way across the river, landing on his knees. He motioned for me to go next. I took a deep breath, took a few steps back, and ran. I jumped a bit too early, and fell into Dusks arms right at the edge of the river. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I take it you find this amusing, don't you?"

"Maybe just a little." His smile was infectious. It suited him better than a stone cold frown. I even think his skin tone gained some color.

Then I realized how close we were standing . . . and that he was still holding me. He noticed this as well, and released me. "We should go. Going by the length of the ride, Pooh's house should be pretty-" I was cut off when something grabbed my ankle and began to pull me under the river.

Dusk grabbed onto my arms, pulling with all his might. But whatever was pulling me down was quite strong. "Dusk, I can't hang on!"

"I've got you! Just a little-" I lost my grip and was pulled under. I heard Dusks muffled screams.

This was no river. It was more like a small ocean. The water pressure made my head pulse, and my lungs began to burn. I swam as much as I could to the surface, but I was dragged even farther. I looked to see what was pulling me, and it was none other than a pink Heffalump.

I kicked at its head repeatedly until finally it released me. I pushed myself upward, but the Heffalump came up and wrapped its trunk around my neck and proceeded to pull me down.

My vision was now starting to get blurry. I clawed at the trunk, trying to pry it off my neck. Jesus, is this thing strong! My strength was depleting. So, as a final attempt, I just dug my nails into the flesh of its trunk, until finally it released me.

I swam as hard as I could until I broke the surface. Dusk pulled me out, balancing my weak body. "God, your neck!"

"Don't worry about that. Let's just go!" We ran in the direction of Pooh's house, which was just in sight. We were just a few feet away when something jumped from a nearby tree and attacked Dusk, clawing at his face.

As he pulled it away, it left a lasting scratch on his left cheek. He threw it aside, and made it to the front door. He threw it open, made sure I made it inside, then slammed it shut, locking it in the process.

He was leaning against the door, while I had collapsed to the floor catching my breath. It the brighter lighting, I got a better look at him. "Oh, my god, your face!"

He touched it, feeling the blood still threatening to pour out. "It's fine. No harm done."

"You were just attacked by a Woozle, and you're saying no harm done?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I? You're the one who almost got strangled to death!"

I felt where the Heffalump had wrapped its trunk. It was rough, and probably red. "It's not too noticeable, is it?"

"Not really. But either way," He went over to a nightstand. "This will probably distract from it." He opened the drawer and pulled out a necklace that had a golden Mickey Mouse Charm.

"We risked our lives for a necklace?"

"Not a necklace. Magic! I asked Pooh to keep it safe since this is probably the most light hearted world next to Small World."

"Yeah. Say that to the missing chunk of flesh on your face."

"I mean no Villain can get inside here. We're safe. This necklace can only be worn by one person."

"I take it you mean me?"

"Precisely! Of course, a Villain could get a hold of it and bend its powers for their own use, but if you're wearing it, they can't touch it. It'll burn them."

He threw the necklace to me. "I still don't get it. Where do I fit into any of this? As a matter of fact, why is any of this happening? Last time I checked, Heffalumps and Woozles didn't try to kill you!"

"Right. Gotta keep up my end of the bargain. Now, once upon a time ago, when Walt was developing Disneyland, as well as establishing his beloved characters, he realized the magic he was creating was much more powerful than he had original thought. So, his plan was to have someone keep the place in check when he couldn't. A Guardian. Even though I was chosen from the very beginning, I wasn't really chosen until I was 23."

"Wait. If you're 23, then how could you have known Walt?"

"Once you're a Guardian, that sticks with for eternity. You're considered a Toon. You can never leave the park, never grow up."

"So you basically watched your whole family die?"

He didn't speak, but somberly nodded. I silently gasped. He was alone. He was the pure definition of alone. "But still, what am I? You haven't exactly told me who I am yet."

"Along with a Guardian comes a Saviour, someone to protect what you are now wearing. The Charms that belong on that necklace is just one of the things that keep this park alive. But the Villains have them, using them for their own evil. That's why I need you now. To purify the Charms and the worlds they reside in. I know it's a lot to ask, but-"

"No, it's fine. I'll help you. But . . . if it's at all possible . . . could I have outside help?"

"There was a time where I had 2 Saviours. But they never agreed on anything and quit shortly after. Are you sure you think you need help? You have me!"

"True, but with 3 of us, we'd be stronger! I know someone, a friend, who knows me better than anyone else in my life! He'd be a great help."

"If you can convince him, sure. But I'm only telling you this to save the embarrassment: Walt chose you because you believe the most. What if your friend is doubtful, and doesn't believe you?"

"You can just leave that to me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Trust in Me**

Milo was double casted, meaning he had 2 jobs. He was a Face Character as Prince Eric, and he was a Vendor. It was 9:30 at night, and at this time I knew he'd be in Cars Land.

There weren't very many people in California Adventures, since it was close to closing time. I found him working in the Cozy Cone tending to a small line.

Being the polite one, I waited in line. When he saw me, his smile slightly faltered. "What happened to your neck?"

"Um . . . Don't worry about it. Look, are you free after your shift?"

"I should be."

"Then could you meet me at the Carousel in Fantasyland?"

"No problem. Everything okay?"

"Just fine. I just need to talk to you about something."

It was dark and quiet. 2 things I was normally scared about. Dusk sat on a horse waiting patiently. It was already 15 minutes past 10. "You sure he's coming?"

"He's never stood me up in the past. Why would he now?" Then, as if on cue, I spotted his usual mess of brunette hair wandering in our direction. I waved my hand. "Milo!"

He jogged towards me. "Did this really need to take place after closing?"

"The sooner the better."

"Okay. So what is it? I'm guessing it's important if you're risking our jobs at the moment."

"Well . . . It's . . ." I gestured for Dusk to speak.

"We have a proposition for you."

"And who is he?" asked Milo.

"This is Dusk; a friend of mine. We need your help with something. This is going to sound crazy, but-"

"We need your help to take down the Villains," interrupted Dusk. "Moira here recommended you. I guess she'd feel more comfortable working with someone she actually knew."

I stepped up to Milo. "Please believe me! The Villains are trying to take over the park, and in doing so can possibly jeopardize their purpose and/or existence. I knew you'd maybe help since you've believed me in the past, but now . . ."

Milo put his hands on my shoulders and gave me a soft smile. "Of course I believe you. You remind me of your 7 year old self." He leaned sideways to get Dusks attention. "Why the Villains in a fussy?"

Dusk jumped down from the horse and sat on the edge of the Carousel floor. "Apparently, Walt had plans to build a park dedicated to the Villains. And when that never happened, they got pissed, and are willing to put their own worlds at stake just to get what they want."

"So how does this work, then?"

"It's kind of at random. You see something or someone off, have a gut feeling, then you should intervene. It's especially difficult during the day. By law, Characters aren't allowed out of their attraction. But of course, the Villains don't adhere to the laws, and do as they please. They can pass as normal Cast Members during the day, possibly putting the guests in danger."

"Well, I'm a Character during the day," said Dusk. "There shouldn't be a problem with me keeping watch."

"And you?" Dusk was motioning for me.

"I'm here every day monitoring the park."

"Then . . . I guess we have our team." Dusk jumped off the Carousel and made his way out of Fantasyland.

"Wait!" I ran up to him, grabbing his arm. "What about you? Even though you've been here for god knows how long, I still don't know what you do, or where you go half the day."

"I guess you can call me a Swing. I do what I can, but it's obviously not enough. That's why I need you. It was a good call on getting your friend to join us. This should be over soon . . ." I wasn't exactly paying attention to him. My gaze was caught with in Peter Pan's Flight. "Interesting how you felt it before I even told you."

"Felt what?"

"The sudden connection. That's your Home World." I cocked my head like a confused puppy. "Saviours have worlds they reside in. You know, to live in. Yours just happens to be Neverland."

I sighed. "Great."

"What? Not satisfied."

"No, it's nothing. You should get going. It's getting late." He nodded with a small from as he exited Fantasyland. I walked over to Milo. "Do you really believe me? Or are you just . . ."

"What?"

"Pitying me? You said I'm reminding you of my childhood self. You think I'm being cute?"

"Moira, I've known you for our whole lives. I honestly don't think you'd make up something like this, and get someone in on it just to spite me. So, come on. We can work it out tomorrow."

We were just exiting through the Sleeping Beauty Castle, when I came up with something. "Do you maybe just wanna stay with me here? I've kind of been living in the hotel, via Gordon's recommendation."

"Really? Since when?"

"Since a couple months ago! Didn't it seem a bit weird how I just stopped coming to your place?"

"Yeah, that was a bit questionable. You sure? This won't make you uncomfortable, will it?"

"It's fine. I wouldn't be offering it if it did. Now let's go! It's almost midnight."

As we were leaving, my final gaze fell on the stairs that led up to the Sleeping Beauty walkthrough attraction. Just walking by it made my skin cold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: You've Got a Friend in Me**

Today was a basic parade to spread the usual Disney spirit and pride. Milo had already gone since he had to get into his Prince Eric costume. I had arrived moments before the parade started to help any stragglers get hooked to their float.

Walking to the float set up, guests were lined up in crowds all throughout the park, awaiting anxiously for the parade to begin. They were also the reason why I was partially late.

I saw Milo rushing out to his float. I followed after. He lifted his shirt, revealing his harness. I then hooked the safety chain to him. "Try to stay on the float this time."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault the float made an abrupt stop!"

"Yeah, well whoever hooked you up didn't do it properly. At least you'll be stable this time." I jumped off the float and signaled that the parade was good to go.

I stood by watching as the floats exited the grounds. But in doing so, I heard someone calling to me. "Moira! Over here!" I turned to see Dusk. I hurried over to him, making sure no one saw me leaving my post. "I think I've got our first mission."

"That's great, but I'm kind of busy at the moment."

"Come on! These parades last about an hour and a half! This shouldn't take long!"

"But what about Milo? You wanna do this without him?"

"We have no choice. It's just over in Tomorrowland."

I looked behind me and watched as the last float exited the gates, and took a deep breath. "Fine. Let's hurry."

Arriving in Tomorrowland, Dusk led me to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. "What's wrong with this ride?"

"Blasters don't work, and the animatronics are unresponsive. My opinion? Zurg is on a power surge. Lucky for us, everyone is at the parade. But for safety reasons, put up the chain."

Entering the building, I did as suggested and hooked the entrance chain. But you know, who listens to a chain?

The lights were still on, but it was quiet. Usually the Buzz animatronic would be greeting the guests. But there was nothing. Not even the extra Space Command sound effects.

Walking through the line, we passed the greeting Buzz animatronic. It was off. It looked dead and disturbing to look at. Especially since his face was basically a hologram. "We're almost there," his voice echoed.

We got to the Cart Entrance, and the inside of the main ride was pitch black dark. "If this is a space ride, where will we end up?"

"Zurg's ship, more or less. Again, realms are bigger than their respectful ride. Most of them will be nothing you would expect."

I took a deep breath, and entered. It was pretty dark for about a minute, but then the light grew brighter and brighter. Till finally I saw where we were. It was a silver corridor, with lights lining the walls. No windows. "How far do you think it goes?" I asked.

"Don't know. It's a pretty massive ship."

"It's kind of suspicious how we haven't encountered anyone yet. No henchmen, or security weapons."

"He's probably expecting us."

"But I don't-" I then saw a corridor going to the left, probably leading to a room. "There! That's got to go somewhere!" We went down the short corridor, coming up to a door. I hovered my hand over when it automatically opened. Movement censored, probably. We walked into a big room. The door closed behind us. "This seems like an arena of some sort."

"That can't be good."

"Why do you say that?"

"Seriously? Any arena on Zurg's ship can't be good!" I looked around. The floor was like a spider web Pentagon. There were pillars lining the outer edge of the floor. There were also doors lining the walls. All seemed calm. Quiet. Too quiet. Then a bright light shown through the center of the room. "We've got company." At platform was rising. Most likely Zurg himself. He was expecting us. "Get ready. This isn't gonna be easy."

"Don't worry. I was the only girl in a defense class in High School." The platform finally reached the top, but we weren't expecting to see who was on on it. Instead of Zurg, it was Buzz. He looked drained. Weak. Most likely being controlled. "Dusk, what do we do? We can't hurt him!"

"No. But we can purify him. Look at his chest. He's got the Charm. It must've been installed by Zurg, which means it's still got its evil qualities." The Charm on his chest was a Rocket Ship Charm that had a star in the center.

Dusk and I took a few steps back, not knowing what he'd do. He's just been idle for a few minutes.

Then he opened his eyes. They were cold and lifeless. It was like he was a living zombie.

He raised his arm at us, and before I could process it, he had fire his laser at us. But thank God Dusk saw it coming before I did, because once Buzz fired, he pushed us out of the way.

Buzz the fired at us again, but we made sure to dodge them all. Dusk then led me behind one of the pillars. "Quick, put your hand over the Gold Charm."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" I did as told. Another laser shot at the pillar. Good thing that Buzz was too dazed to pursue us. "Now flick your arm out. And do it fast!"

"But wh-"

"Don't ask questions! Just do it!" More lasers shot the pillar. It wasn't gonna hold for much longer.

So I closed my eyes, and flicked my arm out. I suddenly felt something in my hand. I looked down. "A wand?"

"Yes! I can't believe I forgot to show you this! Now, with some Charms, not all, the ability is connected to the wand. I don't exactly remember what this particular Charm does, but for this matters sake, just point and hope it shoots!" I was practically hyperventilating by now. This was all happening way too fast. With the lasers coming at us so fast, I wasn't sure if I could aim so quickly. So without thinking, I bolted out from behind the pillar, pointing the wand at Buzz. As another laser came at me, a golden bolt shot from the wand, hitting against his own laser, disabling it immediately. My wand felt warm and Buzz's laser pointer was smoking.

I went to touch the Charm on his chest, but he swung at me. At ducked just in time. His laser may be broken, but that didn't mean he had the strength to kill me with.

As he kept swinging at me, I swiftly dodged. He was coming so fast at me that I couldn't lift my wand.

I glanced behind me at Dusk, mentally pleading for him do something. I could tell he was thinking about something he could do. But even in the moment, I didn't know if he too had some sort of abilities or powers. His explanations have been sporaticated, random, and vague up to this point.

I turned my attention back to Buzz, and in such a swift and fast motion, he got me right in the face, sending me to the floor in a daze.

My wand went flying somewhere. I heard footsteps rushing past me. Most likely Dusks. I mostly heard a loud sharp ringing sound. Boy, would I have a killer migraine later.

I began coming to, feeling around to gain my senses. I was still pretty dazed. " _Moira! Hurry, your wand_!" For a minute, I couldn't process who was talking. All I could mutter to myself was, "Where _is_ the wand?"

Then I snapped back to reality. I saw Dusk and Buzz practically wrestling with each other. Dusk looked over to me. "Quick! Purify him while he's immobilized!" I scanned the floor for the wand and spotted it a few feet away.

I dove for it, running up to Buzz who was fighting Dusks grip. He was holding him back by his arms behind his back.

Now, for some reason, I knew what to do. It was as if something in the back of my head was telling me to do this. I hovered the wand over the Charm that was embedded in Buzz's chest, and felt a strong pressure surround me. Dark energy.

Buzz began getting weaker. His fight against Dusk lessened. He fell to his knees, catching his breath.

Then Charm fell to the floor. I bent to pick it up, but when I opened my hand, it wasn't a Rocket Ship anymore. It was the shape of Saturn. "What does it do?"

"Gives you the ability of persuasion. You can probably gain allies if really wanted to. Not like you can't already."

He winked at me with a stupid grin. I rolled my eyes. My attention went to Buzz who was still out of it. He was probably still gaining his sanity back. "He'll be okay, right?"

"Just fine, thanks to you. Once we leave, his world will go back to normal." I looked at him one last time, and let Dusk lead me out through a door at the very other end of the room, opposite where we came.

Entering back into Tomorrowland, I had to process what the hell just took place. Also the fact that I was in a Disney Realm! I honestly didn't think anything could prove this was real, until Dusk said, "Nice black eye."

Black eye? I touched the side Dusk was looking at and pain shot through. Oh, yeah. I was socked by a Disney Character. "Is it too noticeable?"

"Uh . . . No?"

"How can I explain this? 'Hey, don't mind this, I was just in a fight with a fictional Space Ranger?'"

"Or a simple cover up would do. You're overthinking too much! Let's just find Milo-"

"The parade ended! How long were we in there?"

"Maybe over an hour. Could've been longer."

"Then come on! I could get busted for leaving my post!"

We sprinted to the float set up arena, and everyone was pretty much filing out to change out of their costumes. I spotted Milo jumping from his float and ran up to him.

He saw me and ran up to me in alarm. "What the hell happened to your eye?"

"Kind of got into a situation. I got a Charm though!"

"That's great, but did you bother to look in a mirror?"

"It's not that bad. Will you focus at the matter at hand here? I just found out a bunch of stuff that maybe you should be aware of."

"And I'm all ears. But my next shift starts in 30 minutes, and I still have to change. We can talk about it tonight."

He then walked off, leaving me and Dusk behind, who put a hand to my shoulder. "I'm sure your schedule is probably free as of now. So . . . Wanna go for a walk?"

Dusk and I really didn't walk to any place in particular. We actually just talked to get to know each other. I mostly focused on my school years. "So, you went to UTI, a highly ranked mechanics school, and dropped out to work here?"

"I'm an engineer for attractions, animatronics, and shitty lighting fixtures. I don't think going to school mostly know to NASCAR is going to help me."

"Well, you're lucky to actually go to school. I guess you could call me a drop out, too. I was in the prime before I got chosen."

"By the way, you mentioned that Guardians and Saviours can't leave the park. What happens if we do?"

"Don't know. No one's tried to leave. But I honestly don't want to possibly risk my life to figure that out. I guess that'll put a dent in your friendship with Milo. The only way he's able to be somewhat involved is because he's with you. As long as you and I are with him, he'll have no problem entering Realms. How long have you known each other?"

"For practically our whole lives. He's kind of like a brother to me. I had a hard childhood. My parents were the worst. Abusive at times. When I hit High School, they abandoned me, and Milo was there with open arms. His family was more than accepting. I guess now it won't be so bad. He's pretty understanding."

"The least I wanna do is take anyone away from you. But setting things aside, you did great today. I know things just started, but this is the farthest any Saviours gotten."

"Seriously?"

"I guess they just didn't believe as much as you. But that also means the Villains will be even more of a threat. I don't want to scare you, but I'm just setting out a warning. Keep your eyes peeled. You never know who you can or can't trust. Now you should heed Milo's suggestion and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Watching Dusk retreat let me realize where we had walked. We had gone all the way past New Orleans Square, past Haunted Mansion. I was now next to Mark Twain's Riverboat.

I was about to make my way back to the hotel, when someone spoke behind me. "The longest surviving Saviour? Now that's unheard of." I turned around and was face to face with Dr. Facilier. "You may be tough, but an ego will only get you killed."

"What do you want?"

"Well, I'd usually say that I want those slabs of metal around your neck . . . But I'm not. I'm only here to warn you."

"About?"

"This has been going on since the very beginning. Their power is much greater than you can imagine. You may have gotten a Charm, but there are dozens more out there. The farther you go, the tougher it'll get. Here, take this."

He gently tossed something in my direction. When I caught it, I saw it was a Frog Charm. "Why are you just giving this to me?"

"Listen, kid. I've got all the power I need with my friends. Everything else is just dead weight. This one here will come in handy."

"What does it do?"

"Helps you tell if someone or something is under a spell or not. Trust me, you'll need it."

I looked down at it, examining it. "But still. Why would-" I looked up and he was gone. Weird.

I attached the Charm to the necklace chain, and went back to the hotel.

By the time I got back to the hotel, it was close to closing. On my way over, Gordon spotted me and had me repair about 20 lighting fixtures and 2 switch boards. I swear, this park was getting weaker by the hour.

I unlocked the door to my room, and saw Milo was already there, gazing out the window. Funny. He'd usually be on his phone or computer whenever he beat me home. Then again, he did just move in with me.

I entered. "I had the weirdest conversation with Dr. Facilier. He just gave me a Charm out of nowhere. It was the most randomest-" Before I knew it, Milo held me in a tight hug. "You okay?"

He pressed his forehead against mine. "Now that you're here."

"O . . . Kay." I gently slithered my way from his grasp and went to the nightstand next to my bed. "Anyway, I think I gained an ally. He wasn't threatening or-" Milo came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Dude, why are you so clingy?"

"I just missed you."

"You saw me like 5 hours ago! What is with you?" I pushed him off me, and rushed to the other side of the room. He stayed put.

"I just want to be close to you is all. No harm done."

"This isn't like you! You're never this affection-" I them remembered what kind of Charm Facilier gave me.

I cautiously walked up to Milo, gazing deep into eyes. They were glazed over. A grey tint added to his green eyes. He definitely was under a spell. A love spell.

I took a couple of steps back. "What's wrong, Moira? Not like what you see?" He took my hand in his. So tightly I couldn't pull it away.

"It's just . . . Milo . . . You gotta snap back to reality. This isn't you!"

"It is, Moira." He pulled me up against his body. "I've never seen reality more clear." His gaze fell to my black eye. He gently caressed the edge of it. "So reckless. And so . . ."

He planted a kiss on my forehead. Then on my cheek. Once he reached my neck, I realized what was happening. "Milo, don't . . ." I tried pushing him away, but his grasp around me was too tight. He began to stumble backwards a bit, with me still trying to get him away from me. He then laid me on the bed closest to the door. With him on top of me, I thought it'd be easier to push him off, but I underestimated weight distribution. Was I really that weak? Apparently.

I really didn't know what to do. He had me immobilized. I went into panic mode when his hands hit bare skin on my waist. I was seriously resulting to kicking him, but the thought of hurting him didn't sit well.

But being the philosopher, a thought formed. If a Villain put a spell on him, would that give him Villain qualities? Only one way to find out.

I was really going to regret this. Kicking him seemed better than what I was about to do. I squirmed as much as I could to free an arm, reached for my necklace, and touched it to his neck. Just as I thought, he groaned in pain, as he got off me gripping the burn.

I rushed to the other end of the room, touching the Mickey Charm to gain my wand, and pointed it at Milo. I don't know what I could do to him, and I didn't want to find out. But if he attacked me, I don't know what he'd be capable of.

He stood up, still hunched over with a hand over the burn. My grip on the wand tightened when he began turning towards me. "Jesus, Moira, warn me before you do that!"

"Milo?"

"Who else would I be?" I lowered the wand, rushing to him, inspecting his eyes. "Dude, what's gotten into you?"

"You seriously don't remember what happened?"

"Should I?"

"You had me pinned to the bed! You were on top of me!"

"What? I wasn't gonna . . ." I didn't say anything. But he got the picture. "Oh, my god. Moira, I'm so-" He took a step towards me, but out of force of habit, I backed away. "Moira, it's me! The real me!" His gaze fell to my hand. "Is that a wand?" That was enough to know the spell was broken. I released a breath of relief, and slid to the floor, putting my head between my knees. My wand disintegrated in my hand. Milo sat next to me. "You know I would-"

"I know. I'm sorry. It was all I could think of. I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"If you didn't do what you did, then I would've hurt you. And I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you. I honestly don't know what happened. It's all a blur."

"Good. You don't want to remember. Let's just . . . Forget anything happened. Sleep it off."

He nodded as he stood up. He held a hand out for me and helped me up. He then held me a tight embrace that was different than before. This embrace felt safe and warm. The one he gave me when I walked in the door was one of lust. It was hard. Hostile.

I guess I now realize the sincerness in Dusk when he said he didn't want to take Milo away from me. Being immortal, I guess, would mean watching him die. He wasn't taking him away from me. He was taking me away from him. The only thing to do now is cherish every moment I have with him. Because they'll be the last I have with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Faith and Trust**

The following afternoon, I met with Dusk in Club 33. I told him of last night's affairs, and he actually took it by surprise. I told him how I had broken the spell by burning him with the Charms. I guess, in retrospect, what happened last night was a good thing. Now we know that when a Villain puts a curse or a spell on someone, we know at least one of the ways to break it.

"So how is he doing now?" asked Dusk.

"Well, he's still kind of ashamed of himself. He didn't even want to show his face today. I had to tell Gordon he wasn't feeling well just to cover it up."

"Wow. And he bought it?"

"As much as I hate lying, yes. We've been here for about 5 years. You'd think he'd have our trust by now."

"Oh! Speaking of trust, there's a little someone who is dying to meet you. Can you and Milo meet me after closing?"

"If he's up to it. Who is it?"

He just sat back in his seat with a dumb smirk. "You'll see."

A few minutes after closing, I somehow managed to get Milo to go with me to meet Dusk in Fantasyland. On the way, Milo was a bit . . . Shriveled? He was hunched over, hands in his pockets, and kept his gaze to the ground. I'd make occasional glances at him, and he just looked miserable. I didn't think he'd feel this bad about what happened.

Walking through the castle into Fantasyland, I felt that cold again. This time a bit more intense. I glanced at Milo again, but it seemed to not bother him. Or maybe affect him? It could have something to do with me being a Saviour.

With the Carousel in view, I spotted Dusk waiting beside it, but he was with someone else. A woman. She must be the one that wanted to meet me. She was quite slender and pale, had shoulder length soft blonde hair, and wore a white wrap dress.

When we approached them, the women came up to me, a bright smile on her face. She stood pretty tall against me; maybe a few inches. "She's even more prettier in person!" she said.

I couldn't help but tense up. "Thank you, but I don't think we've ever met."

"Oh, I'm sorry! It must be hard to recognize me in my human form."

"Human form? Dusk, care to explain?"

"Is that really necessary? I think you would've recognized her by the time you laid eyes on her."

I turned back to this mystery woman, carefully examining her. He blue eyes held a sharp glint, almost like she held stars. They shined in this nightly air.

I could tell she found this amusing as she was obviously trying to stifle a laugh. I didn't like games, but I knew no one would help me unless I at least made an attempt. But to start with, she did look familiar. It was really her facial structure. She looked older than she probably was; mature.

Then it hit me. The hair, the attitude, the voice, even the dress she only ever wore once! "Tinkerbelle?"

She smiled wide. "Took you long enough! Walt thought it would be easier to help you if I was able to change my appearance from time to time. I've only been able to do this for 5 years."

"Funny. That's how long I've been around. Have you known it's been me for this long? Why wait?"

"You were still quite new, and we wanted you to get used to things. We were impressed at how advanced you were when you were just starting out. But no matter how much we wanted to get to you, we didn't want to drag you into this mess so soon."

"Thanks for being considerate, I guess. So where do you fit into all this?"

"Think of her as your own Jiminey Cricket," said Dusk. "She'll be around to guide you, alert you, pretty much your eyes and ears."

"Speaking of Jiminey!" Tink held out her hand, took mine, and placed a Charm in my palm. "Courtesy of the Blue Fairy." Inspecting the Charm, it was a wand with a star point. "This will help you to determine if someone is lying or not."

"Wow. Handy." I hooked the Charm to the necklace. When finished, for some reason, my gaze fell within Peter Pan's Flight. My Home World. It's crazy to think I "live" in Neverland. So much I didn't even want to think about it. But it was hard not to. "By the way, about my Home World, I can just . . . enter whenever?"

Her smile faltered. "Yes, but . . . it's best if you don't go right now. It's not the safest. Hook's been just a bit bipolar since this all started. One minute he'll be himself, the next . . . he'll go into a murderous rampage. He's only got under half his crew left. So please, for your own safety, don't go in until it's remotely safe." I nodded, not taking my eyes off the attraction.

Murderous rampage? I get he was a pirate, but that's not in his character. I never would've imagined he'd have the capacity to kill anyone.

I felt Dusk put a hand on my shoulder to break my trance. "It's getting late. I'll walk you to your room."

I didn't say anything, but nodded. I looked up at Tink. "It was great seeing you . . . the real you."

"And you'll be seeing more of me soon. Try not to overwork yourself, though hard as it may seem."

"Will do." She gave me one last smile, and then, in a matter of seconds, she waved her hands over her body and was a fairy once more. She then disappeared into her attraction.

"Come on. Milo looks miserable." Indeed he did. His eyes were droopy and grey. He was slightly hunched over. I for some reason knew this wasn't because he was upset or depressed. It had to have something to do with the way I broke the spell. A side effect.

Dusk kept his word and escorted us to our hotel room. As I entered, I heard Dusk and Milo say their farewells. Once the door was shut and bolted locked, Milo trudged to his bed, and just sat at the edge of it, his head between his legs. For me, this was definitely strange. I have never, in the many years I've known him, seen him act like this. He's usually ecstatic, sarcastic, always brightens up a room.

I went over and sat next to him. He didn't bother to acknowledge my presence. Not even when I put a hand to his back, gently stroking him. His breathing was slow and tense. I put my hand to the bottom of his chin and lifted his head to look at me, which he hadn't done all day. God, he looked miserable. This was the kind of depressed that would end up sending you to a hospital.

He kept steady eye contact with me for almost minute, until he closed his eyes and peered his head down, nuzzling into my hand. He didn't say a word. He hardly spoke all day. When he did, it was hoarse. But then I remembered, when I burned him with my Mickey Charm, I burned his neck.

With both hands, I gently tilted his head to get a better view of his neck, and sure enough, there was a Mickey Head shaped burn mark. None of my Charms had healing abilities. I didn't even know if the Mickey Charm could heal. I knew it could destroy.

Thoughts set aside, I put my hand over the Mickey Charm and summoned my wand. I then touched the tip of the wand to the burn mark. Once it hit his skin, it burned him, making him wince. After a few seconds, I removed the wand and saw that the burn mark was gone.

I looked at Milo. He was still looking down, but I could tell some color had returned to his face, and he didn't look as sad. He peered up at me, a small ghost of a grin showing through as he whispered, "Thank you."

I disintegrated my wand with a simple snap of my fingers. "Get some rest." He softly nodded his head, and proceeded to sleep for the night. I shut off the lamp, and instead of going to my bed, I went to the window and gazed out at the park.

I'm to protect all this. I still didn't understand my role as a Saviour. But at the same time I did. I knew the full power this Disney magic had, and it wasn't something to mess with. What really got my attention was when Tinkerbelle mentioned that Captain Hook wasn't himself. He was Bipolar. Going on bloody massacres. I wanted to investigate in the matter. It was my job to do so, but I had to respect her wishes to not go to Neverland. I trusted her judgement, but I had a feeling she didn't trust me. I had a habit of digging too deep, and if I got involved, that's exactly what would happen.

So for now, I'll stay put. But sooner or later, I'm going to have to check it out. She can't keep me in the shadows forever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: We're All Mad Here**

I awoke once the blinding sun hit my eyes. It was 8 AM. I sat up, stretching my arms over my eyes. I glanced over to Milo's bed and saw he had already left. Probably before the park even opened.

I snatched my phone from the nightstand and spotted a note from underneath it. I took it, reading it's contents:

 _Kind of realized you didn't have my number. Should make our adventures a tad bit easier._

 _Dusk_

I rolled my eyes, crumpling the note and tossing it out. I think I need to make a call to a certain Guardian.

The line rang 3 times before they picked up. I'm guessing they knew who I was since instead of saying hello, they said, " _Yes_?"

"You know that breaking and entering is illegal, right?"

" _I'm sorry. I thought I was being helpful_."

"How the hell did you even get in? The door was double locked!"

 _"I have my secrets and you have yours. Anyway, where are you off to?"_

 _"_ Gordon's sending me to Alice in Wonderland. Apparently the sound isn't working _."_

" _How so_?"

"Well, the only sound in the ride is Alice's narration and the Red Queen. Anything else between that is silent."

 _"What about the animatronics?"_

"Hmm . . . If I remember, only the Card Soldiers were active."

 _"Look, get Milo. I'll meet you at the ride in a few minutes. Make sure the ride is shut down to keep guests away."_ He hung up.

I rushed over to the attraction, seeing the last few guests exit. I went to the switchboard and shut the ride down.

I entered the track, standing in front of the Cart Entrance. It was pitch black when usually you can easily see through it due to the sunlight. It was a very large entrance tunnel.

Soon enough, I was joined by Dusk, and Milo came after. "So what should we expect when we go in?"

"Well, we have no choice but to confront the Red Queen. God only knows how tight her Queendom is now with a Charm in possession. Moira might want to keep your wand handy. Now, you should know how Wonderland is. I suggest we split up. But Milo should go with one of us. And by us, I mean Moira."

"Why me? You're more experienced with this than I am!"

"Yeah, but you've known each other longer. This is his first Realm, whilst you and I have already been to one."

"But I'm the one with the Charms. If I go alone I have a better chance of finding the castle."

"You'd have a better chance either way! Why are you even arguing about this?"

"I'm not arguing! I'm just saying, if I went on my own then it would also be a good opportunity to get used to myself. You know, practice."

He silently stared at me, probably not buying my subtle excuse. I really just wanted to be alone for a bit, as if I didn't already get some form of alone time. Though it was true that I needed to think about my situation. And yes, I did want to practice with the Charms for a bit. Wonderland seemed like a perfect training ground.

Dusk on the other hand sighed in defeat. "Look," I began. "Let's just enter and see the damage done to this realm. It's probably not that bad."

"You say that now. But don't jinx anything." He stood at the edge of the entrance. "See you at the bottom." Next thing I knew, he had jumped off the edge and was now falling. So things were legit.

Milo and I stood at the edge, peering down. It was pitch black. I'm starting to see a theme here. We looked at each other, took each others hands, and jumped.

Cool air shot up at us as we fell at an alarming speed. My grip on Milo's hand tightened. If we hit the floor, something would break.

But before anymore fears could muster, we shot up, falling ever so gently. A bright light was now visible below. And in a matter of minutes, we lightly hit the floor. "So this is Wonderland?" Milo made a good point. I noticed we were in the Queen's Courtyard, but even that shouldn't seem this hellish.

When roses die, they give the illusion like they've been burned. That was every rose bush in sight. "But where's Dusk?" He wasn't anywhere to be found!

"It is possible that the Rabbit Hole sends people to different locations. It keeps the Wonder wonderous."

"Wow, I'm impressed with your logic. But even so, I find it kind of suspicious how we were brought here, and Dusk was sent elsewhere."

Then a handful of Card Soldiers marched towards us. An Eight Card said, "The Queen requests your presence. Come at once."

Without a word, Milo and I went to follow the soldiers as they led us through the courtyard into the castle. I gripped Milo's hand and whispered, "Just let me do the talking. Maybe I can try to persuade her to give me the Charm."

"Yeah, with a price. I know Facilier was kind before, but this is a completely different situation."

"You remember that conversation?"

"Wh-Of course I remember! Just because I was under a spell doesn't mean-"

We were now approaching the Queen. She looked the same, which seemed off with her dark surroundings. The soldiers stopped us a few feet from her throne. She peered down at us. "So you're the Saviour that's graced my Queendom."

I honestly didn't know how to act around her. I've never been around any type of royalty (if you can call her royal). So I just replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

"You must be here for a reason. No one is stupid enough to wander into my court." She stood up and made her way towards us. "But I can take a guess." She held a very small, handheld scepter, in which she used to lift my necklace. "I see you've been busy. It's amazing how much power can be held in such a small corner of silver. I wonder . . ."

She lowered her scepter, and went to grab my necklace, but when she did, it shocked her. She jumped back. "Villains can't touch it if it's worn by a Hero. I thought even you would know."

"Well, then . . . we'll just have to fix that issue, won't we." She placed the head of her scepter under my chin, and swiped. She whispered, "Off with your head."

 ***Dusk's P.O.V***

Once I reached the bottom of the Rabbit Hole, I saw I was in the middle of the forest. You'd think these realms would be on my side. Dusk and Moira ended up elsewhere, which worries me. They literally could've ended up anywhere in Wonderland . . . even the Queen's castle.

All I could do was go onward, and that's what I did . . . for over 40 minutes. I somehow found the Mad Tea Party. Or at least what's left of it. The place looked like it was raided. Hardly anything was left but broken plates, cups, and a chopped up table with a burned tablecloth.

The house wasn't any better either. The straw roof didn't have any straw left, and the wood was warped beyond repair. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I then went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Now that I think about it, I didn't see one odd creature since I've been here. That leads me to wonder how much Wonder is even left to keep this Realm running. The Queen's castle was miles away. It'd take me another hour to get there.

I couldn't help but feel this situation was my fault. I just jumped right into things without notice. I had the title Guardian, but didn't really act the part. Once I find my Saviour, things need to change. But first things first: Another venture through the forest.

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

Milo was held back and guarded by 3 Card Soldiers, while I was being dragged to the guillotine by 2. The guillotine was rusted over with blood. What they didn't know was that I had slid my wand into my back pocket. But did I have a plan? No.

I was pushed up the steps, and was lowered over the well. Below I can see countless rotted heads. I felt the executor move the necklace chain out of the way before leveling the axe. But wait . . . he touched it. How the hell were they able to touch it if they're a Villain? Unless . . .

I sensed the executor raise the axe, but before they could lower it, I touched my wand and lightning shot out, zapping his wrists. He dropped the axe next to the well. I snapped the flimsy rope they had wrapped around my wrists (Pretty cheap for the olden days), and held my wand once more.

The Card Soldiers that guarded Milo rushed towards me, but once they saw my wand, they backed off. My guess was because they've already seen what it can do. The Queen saw this and was not happy about it. The Queen came towards me, her scepter raised. And there I saw it. A Charm was embedded into her scepter; A Crown.

But before she could lay a finger on me, the Executioner stood in front of me. "Out of the way, you fool! How dare you protect the enemy!"

"Actually," He removed his helmet. "In this scenario, you're the enemy." It was Dusk. How he got here so fast, I haven't the clue.

"You?" said the Queen. "You must have a death wish if you're betraying us." Betray?

"I was never on your side to begin with."

"Yes, it was a heinous act to choose the Guardian amongst all people to-" She was cut off when Dusk kicked her scepter out of her hand.

She tried to reach for it, but Dusk stood in front of her, his hands gripping her shoulders. He nodded for me to take the Charm from the scepter. In doing so, the Charm turned from the Crown into the White Rabbit.

Dusk released the Queen, who then approached me. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. I only let you off because I know what's to happen if these matters continue. Tis true you're the first Saviour to make it this far. You must have high tolerance. That, or you must believe."

"I believe that the Villains don't entirely know what they're doing. They have some amount of good in them. They just need help to see it. To find it. You act this way because that's how you were created. It's in your DNA."

"You're mad if you're thinking to persuade a Villain into Heroism."

"Yeah, I am mad. But if it's what will save this Kingdom, then fine. I'm mad as a Hatter. But I'll tell you one thing . . . all the best people are." She smiled at me.

She knelt down and gently took the Charm from my hands. But it didn't revert back to a Crown. Weird of all, it didn't burn her. "Then by all means, save us all." She hooked the Charm onto the necklace without trouble. In seconds, it grew brighter. What was once a hellish Underland transformed into a magical Wonderland before my eyes. "You're exit is right through the Courtyard Entrance. I doubt our paths will cross again, so I wish you luck, though I doubt you'll need any with the kind of heart you have."

I bowed to her, and made my way towards the Courtyard Entrance. Milo and Dusk slowly followed behind. "By the way," I began. "How did you get here so fast?"

Dusk's eyes widened with a grin. "Well, I was in the forest, just leaving the Mad Hatters house, when I ran into the White Rabbit. I explained my dilemma and he led me to just a random rabbit hole. Apparently there are rabbit holes littered everywhere in Wonderland, hidden amongst the trees and bushes. They serve as transportation holes. The one he led me to brought me straight to the Queen's castle. When I got there, I overheard your conversation with the Queen. So, before she could send you to the guillotine, I got there first, and 'persuaded' the executioner to switch places."

"Should I even ask how you managed to do that?"

"He's on our side. He saw through the Queen's motives and plans, and was completely against them."

"So were you really gonna decapitate me? It seemed pretty legit."

"Of course not! I knew you'd do something to stop me. Thanks for the newly acquired bruise, by the way."

"Well now you know not to pose as a Villain! I have self defense reflexes that act out on their own!"

"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses. By the way, before you ask, let's focus on your Charm. It'll allow you to see things not visible to the human eye."

"And that would be?"

"Things only Toons can see."

"Are you saying she's a Toon now?" inquired Milo.

"No. But she's in their World. She might as well act the part. Now let's get out of here. I've had enough Wonder for one day." Dusk exited first. Then Milo. I stayed behind for a minute.

My Blue Fairy Charm was acting up. I sensed he was lying when he said I wasn't a Toon. I also felt he was hiding things from me, which I felt was silly since we're spending, like, eternity together. He betrayed the Villains? He can't be a Villain if he was able to touch my necklace.

There were so many questions running through my head, it was enough to make a philosopher's mind combust. But I feel things will start to unravel with time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Sometimes the Right Path isn't the Easiest One**

The next couple of days were remotely normal. But my sleep schedule wasn't. Gordon could see the sleeplessness in my eyes and felt it was too dangerous to have me fixing rides, or anything that could possibly electrocute me. So instead, he had me work a ride. My favorite ride: The Carousel.

There weren't many guests, which made my job easier. I was leaning against the switchboard, getting mesmerized by the spinning of the Carousel. I swear, I would've fallen asleep right there if I wasn't startled by my phone going off. It was a text from Dusk.

 **From: Dusk**

 **Are you free right now? I need to speak to you. In private.**

 **To: Dusk**

 **Not now. Can it wait? My shift is over in 2 hours.**

 **From: Dusk**

 **Fine. Come to my room: 347.**

Since our adventures in Wonderland, Dusk kind of disappeared. Then all of a sudden he pops up wanting to see me. I would ditch him and not show up as a taste of revenge for leaving for 2 days. But I'm too nice for my own good.

I easily found his room within 5 minutes. Funny thing is that my room number is 447, which I never told him.

I knocked 4 times before he answered. The minute he opened the door, a big rush of very cold air hit me. I didn't think air conditioners could get so cold. I nearly doubled over. "Geez! You harboring polar bears in there?"

"Oh! Sorry." He went to the air conditioner and turned it off. "I'm one of those people that like it especially cold."

"No kidding." I entered his room, not really feeling a change in temperature. It would take a while for it to go back to room temperature. "So what was so important that you needed to see me?"

He locked the door. "No specific reason. I just wanted to talk to you."

"About . . ."

"Well . . You. Me. Look, we're spending eternity together, and we don't really know each other yet. So, I think since nothing huge is going on, this would be a good time to just talk and get to know each other."

"Well that's mighty swell of ya. What do you want to know?"

"For now, let's start out small. What about you parents? You said they abused you?"

What a great conversation starter. I sat at the edge of his single bed, not wanting to make eye contact. "If you were in my shoes, you'd consider what they did abuse. They meant well. I wouldn't exactly call them strict, but they raised me with a cold fist. They were . . Non-believers. They felt that happiness could only exist if you worked for it. You know, from your cold hard success. As a matter of fact, they really didn't want me to believe in anything. But as a kid, knowing that you'll never meet the expectations of your own parents, believing is all you can do.

"It was because of them that I never had friends till High School. If I told them I made a new friend, they'd make me interrogate them to find out every detail about them and their family. And if they didn't meet my parents standards, then I couldn't be friends with them."

"What about Milo? Seeing how your parents were, it seems like he'd be out of reach of their standards."

"And you'd be right. But even though Milo didn't meet their standards, his parents did. They were stern business people like my parents. They kind of forced us to be friends, but I don't regret it. He's been my only friend. My best friend. He's more of a brother figure to me."

"Now where does the abandonment part come in?"

"Well, it was just after the first day of Freshman year. I was walking out the front doors with Milo, but I only see his parents. It was then they said 'You're gonna live with us now. Your parents had to move to where their business branch is, but they couldn't afford to take you. We packed your things. And the house was put up for sale.' But in all honesty, I knew why. They'd given up on me. They couldn't raise me in their image, so they left so I wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. I guess I'm kind of glad. I was much happier later on. But still kind of empty without a definitive answer on why they left."

"Where's their business branch? Out of state?"

"No, somewhere outside of Anaheim. They never told me. But it's not like I'm gonna go looking for them anytime soon. So, what's your family like?" I kind of just pushed that out. I didn't want to go on talking about my past, and I'm sure his was more interesting than mine.

"Well . . . Nothing much happened. We were just a normal family living in the 50's."

"Oh, come on! Something interesting must've happened to you! How about when you got involved with Disney?"

"Lets see . . . I met Walt right as he was getting ready to build Disneyland. I originally wanted to be an artist for the actual studio. I was quite the artist back in the day. But he had other plans for me. He said he saw 'potential' in me. So, as the park was well under construction, he brought me into his office and sat me down. And he said 'Son, do you believe?' And I said 'Believe in what, sir?' 'Magic.' Now living in the 50's, the only thing people considered magic was getting to watch I Love Lucy in time. No one really knew what magic was. So I said 'I'm not quite sure what you mean, sir.' He leaned forward, looked me in the eye, and said 'My magic. What started out as a small speck of dust has now turned into a massive overload of power. And it's in danger.' 'Danger, sir?' 'Yes. Once my park opens, my creations will become eternalized. They'll come to life and keep my magic flowing. But I need someone to look after it.' I thought the old man was crazy. Lost his mind along the way. Too caught up in himself. But something in me told me to believe in him. Because for some unknown reason, in that very room, I felt the surge of his magic rushing past and through me. It was weird. So, I accepted his offer to become his Guardian. After so, he tells me I'll have a 'Sidekick' if you will. A Saviour to manage and protect the magic. I guess my job was just to keep the characters in check. And you can see I'm doing a terrific job at that."

"Oh, sure. I'm sure Buzz was thinking about you when he socked me in the face."

"By the way, it's looking better now. Almost hardly noticeable."

"Gee, thanks for noticing"

"Anyway, that was back in 1953. It was kind of weird seeing everything change as time went on. I could always feel the magic getting stronger. Do you feel it?"

"I . . . Well . . No. I really don't know what to feel these days. This whole weeks been kind of . . ."

"No, I get it. You'll get adjusted soon enough. Till then, we'll just take it slow."

"Yeah . . . Slow." The mood immediately went down. And I know he could tell. I'm easy to read like a book, even when I don't know it.

He came beside me. "Are you sure you're okay with all this? I'm surprised you lasted this long and got as far as you did. You know you can quit-"

"No! I'm okay. It's a little too late to quit. Like you said, it's just gonna take awhile to get used to things and accept them the way they are. I'll be okay. Really."

"Well, I believe you. Just don't overwork yourself. The least I need is seeing you collapse in the middle of Main Street from exhaustion."

"Yeah, I kind of have a habit of overworking myself. But anyway . . . I have night patrol tonight, if you wanna . . ."

"Sounds perfect. Carousel?"

"Yeah. Carousel."

"You seem to go there a lot. What's so special about it?"

"Well, it's my favorite. Unlike other rides, a carousel just goes round and round with no beginning or end. Nothing can stop you."

"Hmm. I get it. Well . . You should get back to work. I'm sure Gordon has a 5 mile list of things for you to do."

"Right. I'll see you tonight then." He nodded.

I left his room. The minute I shut the door behind me, a huge wave of relief hit me. I didn't realize how tense I was in there.

I checked the time on my phone which read 5:15 pm. 5 more hours till closing. I guess I can run some diagnostics on some glitchy switch boards and animatronics for the time being.

As I began to make my way down the hallway, and into the elevator, that wave of cold hit me again. I hoped I would find out the source. Because clearly, this is unnatural.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Things Will Look Better in the Morning**

Dusk, Milo, and I were on night patrol. We had just finished going through Main Street and Tomorrowland, and we were now headed towards Fantasyland.

"Why did I have to come again?" complained Milo.

"You agreed to help, so you're helping!"

"What's the point if I can't really do anything? You're the one with the powers."

"You're opinion matters. Plus, weren't you in wrestling in High School?"

"For a year our Sophomore year. That really doesn't . . . Do you smell that? It's like smoke."

There was a light scent of smoke in the air. But we couldn't find the source. So we kept walking in the direction of the scent when Dusk pointed it out. "There! Coming out of the Pinocchio ride!"

"Is it on fire?" asked Milo.

"Let's hope not. Somethings going on in the actual realm." Dusk ran over to the Cart Entrance of the ride. "It's much heavier the closer we get. If we enter, we should end up at the source." Dusk entered first, the me, then Milo.

Like usual, it was dark at first, but then we began to see a picture. We were outdoors. It was dark with a full moon. The smoke came from multiple camp fires. But what was super obvious was the huge crowd of people crowding a small staging area.

Seeing how this was Pinocchio's realm, this was where he performed. But now, it was a bit different. I saw, just beside the stage, Stromboli was yelling at Pinocchio. Most likely about performing on stage.

The 3 of us pushed our way close to the front. Pinocchio would come on any minute now. I leaned over to Dusk. "Any ideas where the Charm is?"

"Well, there's a multitude of Villains in this Realm. But seeing the circumstances, Stromboli is the main one."

"Well, we'll have to create a diversion to distract him. If Pinocchio goes on, he really wouldn't be paying attention to him but the audience. He's in for the cash. But if-"

"Moira was in the Musical Theatre," piped in Milo. I froze. Dusk turned back to me.

"Really? For how long?"

"Like 5 or 6 years, but you don't expect me to seriously go up there, do you?" They didn't say anything, but just stare at me, hinting that that's exactly what they had in mind. "Guys!"

"Look, just do one song. That should give us enough time to get Pinocchio out of here, and hopefully we'll find the Charm, too. Please, Moira!"

"Do you know how long ago that was? I'm not sure I still have what I had!"

"Acting is acting! Just play it off!"

"It doesn't work that way!"

"Moira!" He directly faced me, his hands on my shoulders. "I get your reasoning, but try to understand the circumstance. 4 minutes is all I'm asking. Longer if possible. This is the only thing I'm asking of you."

I looked towards the stage and saw Pinocchio was walking on. I sighed, not believing what I was about to do. "Excuse me!" I proceeded towards the stage. "I'd like to perform in his place."

Stromboli glared at me and laughed. "You? A girl?"

"Well, if you ask me, he doesn't seem too thrilled to be up here."

"Hmmm . . ." He glanced at Pinocchio, then at me. "How about a wager? If you can give a worthy performance, I'll let him go. If not . . . Then you'll be forced to hand over those Charms." I flinched. He noticed.

"If you like what I do, in addition, you'll need to hand over your Charm."

He grinned, and held out a hand. "Deal." I hesitantly shook his hand. I knew not to trust him. In the end, either way, I'd have to fight him for the Charm, which I noticed was hanging from his neck.

Pinocchio skipped off the stage, and I took center. I looked over all the men that surrounded the site, and in the moment, I felt a bit intimidated.

This sort of scene reminded me of Funny Girl, in a way. Alone on stage, in front of hundreds of people waiting eagerly.

I spotted that Milo had fought his way to the front. Once we made eye contact, he nodded with a gentle smile. That was enough to give me even a little bit of strength.

So, I took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. And began to sing: " _Oh, my man, I love him so. He'll never know_ . . ."

 ***Dusk's P.O.V***

I was able to claw out of the crowding audience and sneak my way behind the stage. I found Pinocchio. I jogged up to him. "Come on, I'm gonna get you out of here."

"But Mr. Stromboli will catch us!"

"He won't if we leave now!"

"But what about-"

"Don't worry. She'll be fine. She's stronger than she looks. Well just get you to a reasonable distance and-" I felt two heavy hands land on my shoulders. I was forcefully turned around, and I was facing Stromboli.

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

I finished the last belt, and all was silent. For a few seconds, I went stiff, thinking that maybe they didn't like the song I did, or just my presence in general. But then the unexpected happened. The crowd was cheering, so I suppose I did a good job. Hopefully Stromboli would keep his end of the deal, but I knew he wouldn't.

Milo met up with me once I exited the stage. Stromboli then found us. "I admit, that was quite the performance. You have quite the gift."

"Why thank you! I guess it was to your standards?"

"Yes, yes . . ." He went to unhook his Charm, but paused. "But you know, I could use someone like you."

"That wasn't the deal! Just give me the Charm, and we'll be out of your-"

He gripped my wrist. "You think I'd give in so easily? Ha! A comedian as well! You're coming with me whether you like it or-" Then something wrapped around his neck and pulled him down to the ground. I looked up and saw Dusk holding a long rope.

"Where's Pinocchio?" I asked.

"Don't worry. I sent him on his way. He'll be fine." As he was walking to us, he swiftly bent down and swiped the Charm from Stromboli's neck, and tossed it to me. "Let's just get out of here."

I didn't question him. And I didn't even look at the Charm. I just hooked it onto my necklace, and joined Dusk and Milo in our pursuit.

The wide field was now empty, which didn't seem right. It was so dark that we didn't know where to go.

We then heard multiple footsteps approaching us at a quickening pace. I summoned my wand, and turned around, pointing it at them. They slowed down, almost raising their arms in surrender.

We began to back up some, but bumped into more of Stromboli's men. This time, they weren't intimidated by my wand. They kept closing in on us, twisted smiles plastered on their faces.

I felt one of them grip my shoulders, and as if on cue, others began to attack Dusk and Milo. Well, my instincts kicked in, and I back kicked the guy holding me just below his waist. He doubled over, releasing me.

From where I stood, I pointed my wand at the two goons attacking Dusk and Milo, and I, for some reason thought of lightning. Then out of nowhere, 2 shocks of lightning hit them.

Dusk and Milo jogged up to me, but then the guy that once had me, reached up and pulled me back by my hair. I exclaimed in pain once he released me. He was at a face off with the boys. I jumped on his back, arms around his neck, strangling him.

His hands gripped my arms as he tried to fling me from his back. It was then I realized I didn't have my wand. I managed to get a glimpse at Dusk, who was now busy fighting off more men. I probably dropped my wand and it materialized back into the Mickey Charm.

I tried to tighten my grip with one arm so I could free one arm to summon my wand, but that idea proved useless as I was flung to the ground, the air being ripped from my body and pain engulfed my back. All I could hear was a high pitched ringing in my ears.

I lay there for about 2 minutes. Then I felt my body being lifted roughly. I was only half conscious at this point when I was being put down on a hard surface. Then I started moving. No. I was in something that started moving. I was in Stromboli's carriage.

 ***Milo's P.O.V***

I didn't realize I had passed out because I woke up with a killer headache. I found Dusk still unconscious. He looked more beat up than me. He had a huge gash on the corner of his head. I went to move over to him, feeling pain run up my body. It even hurt to breathe. Everything was a blur up to this point.

I shook him gently, calling his name and getting groans of pain in response. He gripped his head and winced. I held a hand out for him to grab onto, and I helped him up. He nearly fell on top of me. "They must've fled out when we passed out," I said.

"Is Moira okay?" I went silent. Moira was nowhere to be found. He noticed my sudden silence and fully faced me. "Milo, where's Moira?"

"Well . . . she might've been . . . . . . . . kidnapped." His eyes widened and his hands began to twitch. He ran his hands through his hair, breathing hard. "This shouldn't be happening. You realize she's a weapon at this point?!"

"Calm down. They couldn't have gone far."

"Seriously? How long were we passed out? She could be miles from the exit point! She could be anywhere! We have to start looking for something. Anything that'll show where she went."

"Like tracks? Because if you noticed the terrain, I don't think wheel tracks can be left in grass."

"There's a road nearby. We've gotta start moving. Who knows what's happening to her right now. With the power he has, he could be reforming her."

Dusk spoke as if he knew what could happen as if speaking from experience. But I couldn't bring myself to dwell on him. Moira was kidnapped and we had no idea where she could be, or if she was okay.

We found a dirt road, but there weren't any wheel tracks on it. Regardless, Dusk insisted we head down the road. We could end up walking for hours with no destination in sight. We could end up not finding Moira thus endangering her life even further. It was times like these that I wished I had a magic wand.

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

My senses were coming to. My body was racked with pain. I wouldn't be surprised if I found bruises amongst my body.

I felt myself moving unsteadily. Most likely in some sort of vehicle. It wasn't until my vision cleared up that I realized where I was and what was taking place. I was in Stromboli's carriage, surrounded by beaten up puppets and marionettes. I shuttered at the sight of the giant bird cage hung in the corner. Pinocchio would've been stuck in there if it weren't for Dusk setting him free.

Which brought to my attention, I have no idea where I was going, and no idea where Dusk and Milo were. I felt my neck and was relieved that I still had my necklace. But stiffened when I realized I hadn't retrieved the Charm yet.

I stood, grabbing onto puppet legs for balance, and tried for the door, only to see it locked. I could use my wand to unlock it, but I had to get the Charm before I could even think about leaving.

I headed to the front of the carriage, peeking through the small opening. Stromboli was invested in driving the carriage. Seeing as it was horsedrawn, he couldn't afford to stop if he wanted to. If he did, the horses would go ballistic and we'd be thrown off.

I summoned my wand, still thinking about my options. I was still getting used to the magic. I really didn't know what else the Mickey Charm was capable of. It seemed to be driven by my mind. If I was ever in trouble, I'd all of a sudden know what to do as if I'd done it before. It was something I called Mickey's Intuition.

But maybe . . . I thought that maybe I could levitate the Charm to me. But he'd probably feel the movement and come after me.

God, this was all so frustrating! I only hope that Dusk and Milo were coming for me. As much as I hated being a damsel in distress, I could only rely on them.

 ***Dusk's P.O.V***

It felt like we had been walking for a little over an hour with no progress being made. I really did worry about Moira's well being, but at this point, I was unmotivated.

I finally stopped walking. Milo stopped ahead of me, looking back. "You okay?"

"I . . . We're not making any progress. We have to go back to the park and get help."

"I'm sorry, but if you haven't noticed, we're nowhere near the exit point!"

"Do you have any ideas? We're stranded, the Saviour is in danger-"

"And who's fault is that?"

"Are you seriously blaming me? I have no control on what happens around here!"

"Don't give me that! You dragged her into this, she dragged me into this! If she hadn't met you, we wouldn't be here!"

"If she hadn't met me, then none of us would be here! We would be slaves to the most powerful Villains created! She's strong! She's tough! She has a god damn wand! I'm sure she's fine!"

Milo looked about ready to attack me, but then we heard distant galloping. He turned and saw a horse drawn carriage fast approaching us. But before It could crush us, we jumped out of the way, but I heard a loud thump, causing the carriage to halt.

I looked over and saw that Milo's ankle got caught under the wheel. When I saw the man get off of his post to help Milo, my heart dropped. It was Stromboli. But when he was tending to Milo, it looked like he didn't recognize him. I found that odd how he sent his men to try to kill us, yet he didn't even know who Milo was. As long as he didn't see me, I'm sure we'd be okay.

I snuck to the back of the carriage, looking through the doors small bared off window. I saw Moira, curled up on the floor, her knees brought up against her chest, and her head down. I whispered for her. "Moira! It's me!"

Her head bolted up with a gleam in her eyes. "Dusk!" She ran towards me.

"Sh! He's distracted right now. He accidentally ran over Milo, and he's helping him. Apparently, he doesn't remember him, but I'm sure he'd remember me if he saw me. I am the Guardian after all. That's why we need to get out of here now!"

"The doors locked! He'll come running over if he heard me breaking down the door."

"Put your wand through the key slot. It works as a universal key."

She narrowed her eyes at me as she summoned her wand. She did as I told her and she heard a click, and the door swung open. "Wow, that worked?"

"You can wonder about it later. We have to signal Milo to leave."

 ***Milo's P.O.V***

I was uncomfortable with the fact that Stromboli, a sure fire Villain, was tending to my sprained ankle.

I heard some shuffling to my left and saw Dusk with Moira, signaling me to go with them. I subtly nodded and directed my attention back to the Villain. "Well, your help was much much much appreciated. But I must be going."

"With that injury? Why don't I give you-"

"Oh no. I think walking will help stretch the muscle. As they say, exercise is the best medicine." I laughed nervously, and he glared at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Um . . Of course. But . . I'm gonna need one more thing."

"Oh? And would that be?"

"This!"

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

I saw Milo snap the Charm from Stromboli's necklace and bolt in our direction. When he got up, he spotted us and his memory seemed to flow back to him.

He came after us, and Milo was the first to run. But not fast as he did have a sprained ankle.

Dusk and I followed after. Dusk scooped Milo up in his arms bridal style to help with faster travel since he was practically limping. It was hard trying not to laugh at how Milo was gripping onto Dusks shirt.

I looked behind as I saw Stromboli gaining on us. But in a split second, without stopping, I pointed my wand at his carriage and a big bolt of lightning struck it, setting it on fire.

He stopped, looked at the destruction, and ran back towards it. But we kept running until we felt we were at a reasonable distance.

We were in an area surrounded by trees, so it was easy to hide if we needed to. Dusk set Milo down and bent over catching his breath.

I walked next to Milo. "You have the Charm?"

"Oh yeah! Here you go." He put the Charm in my palm and I examined it. It was an umbrella. Jimminey's umbrella. If the Wand Charm helped me to tell if someone was lying, then I have no idea what this would could do. "So what now?" Milo broke the silence.

Dusk stood straight. "I honestly couldn't tell you. I have no idea where the exit point is. I don't even know where we are! I'm sorry."

I walked over to Dusk and held his chin so that he could look me in the eye. His face was so battered. He had a big gash in his head. His eyes were filled with sorrow. But despite this troubled time, I smiled and embraced him tightly. I could feel his heart beat rapidly. "Please don't apologize. It's not your fault. Things just happen, and sometimes for a reason. It's not the end of the world. We'll get through this." I felt his body relax and he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face within my neck.

We held this embrace for a couple of minutes until Milo shouted, "Guys, look up there!" We broke from the hug and saw a bright blue orb hovering down in our direction.

And it revealed to be the Blue Fairy. She looked at each one of us and smiled. "I see you've been working diligently. I'm quite impressed with you all. As payment for your help, I'll send you home."

"You will?" asked Milo.

"Of course! I see you're willing to risk your lives for one another. And that's the meaning of a true Guardian." Her gaze fell on Dusk, most likely because of the highly unnoticeable gash on his head. Then she turned to me. "I see you've received my Charm. The one you hold now will help you to follow your true instincts. Whenever you have a feeling of uneasiness, this Charm will give you the confidence needed to listen to those internal warnings." She touched the tip of her wand to the Charm. "Once you add it to your necklace, you'll find yourself home. I'll be looking forward to hearing about your future endeavors." Then in a blink of an eye, she had faded away.

Dusk and Milo gazed at me. I looked down at the Charm, and gently clipped it to my necklace. And when I looked up, we were all in my hotel room. Milo trudged to his bed and flopped down on it. I looked at Dusk and took his hand. "Come on. I'll fix you up."

I led him to the bathroom, sitting him on the edge of the bathtub. I reached into the sink cabinet and took out my first aid kit and sat beside Dusk. I took out a disinfectant wipe and gently dabbed his gash, earning a wince of pain. "Sorry. What happened that earned you this beauty."

"I got kicked straight in the head. Passed out for a few minutes. I'm surprised I don't have a concussion."

"Well, you never know. It could be very light. Maybe tomorrow you should take it a bit easy. Don't let Gordon overwork you like he usually does."

"And what about you Miss Only-Engineer-In-The-Park?"

"Precisely. I have no choice."

"And neither do I." He grabbed my wrist to stop me from cleaning his wound, and held my hand in his lap. "Milo kind of made a good point. When we were searching for you, we kind of had an argument. And . . . yeah . . I dragged you into this unexpectedly. And I know I can be vague about certain things, but that's just because I'm trying to keep you safe. If you know too much, they'll come after you harder than they already are. Look what happened tonight! I'm surprised you weren't tortured for-"

"Dusk! I swear, you worry way too much. It's tough right now because it's just the beginning of what's to come. I have you and Milo, who I'm surprised has stuck around this long. I appreciate your many concerns, but please don't kill yourself over my safety. Milo is enough to bug me about that."

He chuckled and embraced me. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being the Saviour we need. I know you keep hearing that over and over, but it's true."

"Okay, don't get all sentimental on me." I broke the hug. "Now go to your room. Rest up. Things will look better in the morning. Hopefully better than what we went through tonight." He laughed again.

I walked him to the door and we said our good nights. Once he was gone and I had bolted the door shut, a very tired Milo hollard, "Geez! Will you guys just kiss already!"

"Milo!"

"What? Don't act like you don't see it too! There's no doubt he has a-" I tackled him with one of his pillows.

"You definitely need sleep. And you're gonna need it. And looking from how banged up you are, you're most likely gonna feel sore."

"Don't ignore the topic! I'm only gonna pester you until you own up to it."

"Well then you are going to have a very frustrating time."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: California Screamin'**

I woke up, surprisingly not in as much bodily pain as I thought, and got ready for my vending shift in Tomorrowland. As I was moving along, I saw that Moira was still in bed, which was pretty much uncalled for. Most of the time, she's up before me.

I sat beside her on her bed, laying a hand on her shoulder. She was covering her face. "Moira," I whispered. "Don't'cha think you should get up now?" She groaned and proceeded to cover her face even more, her hand gripping the back of her head. "Oh, I see. Migraine?" She nodded with another groan. "I'd expect so after last night." I reached into her nightstand and pulled out the green bottle of extra strength aspirin. "At least have the strength to take this so you don't suffer the whole day. I'll tell Gordon and Dusk. Besides, you deserve the rest."

I went to get up when I heard movement. "What would I do without you?" I smiled and patted her head. I then made my way out of the room while sloppily attaching my name tag.

Business was slow, as usual. Tomorrowland just wasn't the popular land to visit. At least, not with all the construction surrounding the place.

I rested my chin in my hand, staring off in the distance when someone approached. I jumped up, preparing to listen to their order, but halted when I saw it was just Dusk. "Do you always sneak up like that?"

"Only for the special few. How's Moira?"

"She's in a lot of pain. Couldn't even get out of bed. I told Gordon and he put her down for illness."

"Damn. That bad?"

"When she gets these bad headaches, she can hardly function. Her breathing slows down, she's becomes light sensitive. She's basically the living dead."

He snorted at my comment. "Then I guess it's just you and me today."

"Come again?"

"Well, you don't seem busy. Wanna do a mini daytime patrol?"

"By 'want to', you mean 'have to', right?"

"Pretty much."

"I don't know how useful I'll be. I don't have the Charms with me."

"Well, not much happens in the daytime save for your casual ride malfunction"

"I can't just leave my post!"

"Oh sure. You look sooo busy." I glared at him. I just don't know what Moira sees in him. But still, I closed the stand down and went to California Adventures with him.

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

I awoke to chills and piercing pain in my head. It was the late afternoon. I was never one to skip work, which was every day of the week. I actually hated it. But when I'm in this sort of condition, I'm considered a hazard. Imagine, if a ride like Hyperspace Mountain were to break down internally, and I had to go in and work with the machinery . . . let's just say it wouldn't end well.

But right now, the one thing that was distracting me from the splitting migraine was how freezing I was. It almost hurt. Not even my blankets kept me warm.

So in the meantime, I wrapped the blanket around my body and sat up on the edge of the bed. I took what pills I needed to, and let out a shaky sigh. Looking to my left, the air conditioner was just a few feet away from me. So I carefully and slowly stood up, and trudge my way to it, and checked how high it was. Milo probably felt that the cold would help sooth the pain. But it actually made it worse. It went from a pounding pain to a sharp pain.

But as a matter of fact, Milo had nothing to do with it. The air conditioner wasn't even on. I backed up, running my hand through my hair in both fear and confusion. I honestly couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that the cold was getting worse and worse by the minute. I could've sworn I saw a very thin layer of ice forming on the window.

I heard a knock on my door that made me jump. " _Moira_?" That voice . . . it was Gordon. God, it was so hard to think or process anything! I made to move towards the door but with every movement brought pins and needles.

I had no choice but to move with one foot at a time almost like a statue that had just come to life, clinging to the blanket like it was my only life source. Halfway to the door, I fell to my knees, hunched over. It was so bad that I found it hard to breathe. I couldn't bend my fingers. I saw my skin gaining a very very light shade of blue.

The knocking grew more and more dire. Was the door locked? I'm sure even Milo would have enough sense to lock it if he were leaving me alone. Especially with the life we were now leading.

I made an attempt to stand, but fell completely down. I curled into myself, shaking excessively from the painful cold. It was like torture. I really wanted it to end.

I then heard the door slam open. I felt Gordon probably busted it down. I heard his footsteps rush towards me and felt his presence right above me. Him lifting my head into his lap was an immediate indication he was kneeling above me.

I cracked my eyes open and saw his worried expression staring down at me. But it wasn't me he was looking at. It was my Charm Necklace.

With his index finger, he tapped the Mickey Charm, and almost instantly I felt my body warm up. It was that toasty feeling that you get when holding a blanket you just pulled out of the dryer close to your body.

Not only did my body warm up, but the room itself did too. I moved my fingers, then my toes. I took in a shaky breath and fully opened my eyes. Gordon's expression changed from worry to amusement.

"Alright. Up you go!" Gordon lifted me up by my underarms and sat me at the edge of the bed. He took a seat beside me.

I didn't make eye contact. I kept my gaze on my hands that were in my lap. "So . . . you're involved in this, too?" I asked. I just wanted to get to the point. He knew how to work the Charms. He couldn't hide anything from me even if he tried.

"More than you think, I guess. I just keep you and Dusk in check; make sure you're on the right path, doing what you're supposed to."

"Did you know I was the Saviour?"

"Did you think it was a coincidence I paired you up with Dusk to 'fix' Winnie the Pooh?"

I released a breathy chuckle. "That cold. I've felt it before. Underneath the castle by the staircase that goes up to the Sleeping Beauty Walkthrough. I've seen guests walk by, and it doesn't phase them."

"Well that cold isn't from a faulty air conditioner. Whenever you feel that cold, it means Maleficent is nearby."

"Was she here, in the room?"

"With how strong the effect was, I'd say she was. Hidden. She's not too happy about the progress you've made. But I must say I'm quite impressed. Never seen this many Charms at once."

"I've been getting that a lot. But not in a good way. But it doesn't matter. As long as I can purify these worlds, they can throw as many obstacles at me as they want. It's never phased me before, anyways."

"You really are something, kid."

"Gee, thanks. I get that a-Ow!"

"What's wrong?"

"The Mickey Charm. It . . burns! Why would it burn me if I'm a Saviour?"

"This type of burn means Dusk has gotten himself in a hussy."

"But I don't even know where he is! I didn't see him today!"

"Sure you know where he is! Now focus. Pick one, Disneyland or California Adventures?"

"California Adventures." I gasped and clasped a hand over my mouth. That came out absentmindedly, with no hesitation. Gordon just looked at me with a wide grin you'd usually see on a proud father. "Welp! Guess I know where I'm going!" I jumped off the bed, lifting my arms over my head in a long stretch, embracing the warmth I needed after the little episode I had.

As I went for the door, Gordon called for me. "Look out for yourself out there. It's only gonna get tougher from here on. And if you ever need help . . Don't hesitate to ask." His smile was contagious as I now found myself smiling back, nodding at his kind words.

I exited the hotel, making a straight B-line to California Adventures, clearly not expecting the events that would unfold.

 ***Milo's P.O.V***

The scream was blood curdling. Clearly a scream of fear and panic. Dusk and I exchanged similar glances of worry as we bolted for the source: California Screamin'.

The name of the ride was quite literal. It was a wild rollercoaster, so screams were essential. But not this one. Dusk and I stared at the ride in awe as it had gone haywire.

The ride was going much faster than it should. I watched as the unfortunate riders held on for dear life as they passed through the loop 2 times in 2 minutes. And it wouldn't stop. It just kept going and going and going! I didn't know what to do! Seriously, the minute Moira is absent, all hell breaks loose.

Dusk rushed onto the platform where the switchboard was and began to smash any button he could find. I caught up to him. I kept glancing back and forth from the switchboard to the speeding coaster and saw no change.

Dusk ran a shaky hand through his hair. "I swear, if Moira is like this again, I'm kidnapping her. I don't even care if she's bleeding to death!"

A few seconds later, the switchboard flipped out, smoke emerging from the machine. It smelled as if the wires on the inside caught fire and melted.

 ***Moira's P.O.V***

Regardless if anyone saw me, I had my wand out, thought of what I wanted to do, and sharply pointed it at the rollercoaster's switchboard, electrocuting it from the inside out. It was quite humorous to see Dusk and Milo's reaction, but now was not the time for jokes.

The coaster cars began slowing down right as they were going through the loop. It barely just made it down, the back of the car lifting off the track as it came down, but slammed back down onto the track as it finished it's coarse.

The 2 boys hadn't seen me, so I snuck up behind them, saying, "Why is that once I turn my back, all hell breaks loose?"

"Trust me," said Milo. "I've been asking myself the same thing."

I rolled my eyes, and walked past them, approaching the scared and angry passengers. "Is everyone alright?" I asked. No one answered. Some nodded, some were crying, some were trying to catch their breath. I was trying my best to hold down my anger. I was close to trembling. These are innocent guests. MY guests. This was no doubt the doing of a Villain. And mark my words. They've gone too far. They've crossed the line.

I helped the guests exit the ride, stopping each one to make sure they were okay, and seeing if they needed absolutely anything. They all said they were okay, and left. No one snapped at me. But I wish they had. This wouldn't have happened if I was here. I would've been able to stop it before it even started.

Once the last guest had fled, I jumped onto the track, inspecting the coaster cars. The wheels were emitting heat. I didn't even have to bend down for a close look because I could feel the heat from just standing close to the cars.

I climbed onto the first car, and lifted the safety bar. The latch that locked it in place had been broken. I checked the others, and it was the same story.

This ride would have to be closed down until I could fix the cars AND the switchboard since I fried it. And as circumstances laid, that wouldn't be for a while. And even if I did manage to fix it within a few weeks, I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to ride it. What happened was pretty traumatizing.

I jumped off the track, not even glancing at Dusk or Milo. My gaze locked on a shadowy figure fleeing the park from across the large lake.

"Moira . . ." Dusk began. But I didn't give him time to finish for I had bolted towards that figure, knowing who that had to be: Maleficent.

My heart pounded against my chest as I chased after her, exiting the park, and into the main Disneyland entrance.

I paid no attention to the confused eyes of the guests that watched the escapade. They had no idea what was going on. And at the same time, I wished they did. I wish they knew they weren't safe. They were completely oblivious to the troubles that surrounded them, yet I could see them as clear as day. I hated that.

I chased her toward the Sleeping Beauty Castle. Just as I was about to bound up the stairs, strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. No matter how hard I fought back, they fought harder. And soon, I let them win.

I shoved their arms off of me, facing the worried eyes of Dusk and Milo.

I was breathing quite heavily, not realizing how far I had ran in such little time. Dusk put a gentle hand on my shoulder. For some reason it calmed me down. But only enough for me to think a bit clearer.

I couldn't make eye contact. My eyes were darting anywhere but his hard blue eyes. The eyes that pleaded for me to go with him, to please stop what I was doing. I wanted to go with him. But something told me not to.

Finally, I shrugged his hand away from me, and walked away. I guess it was in that moment that I realized just what I was getting myself into. I was already in too deep to back out. So what now? What now?


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Mysteries and Magic. NIGHTMARES fantastic.**

I sat at the edge of my bed, gazing out the window. It was 30 minutes after closing, and my thoughts were keeping me from any form of sleep. Even Milo was a bit disturbed from today's events. But it wasn't his burden to carry.

I kept arguing with myself to go to sleep. My eyes burned as I kept staring out at the sleeping park. I thought Milo had already fallen asleep, but was proven wrong when he spoke up just above a whisper. "Moira? What-Who were you chasing? After you stopped the ride, I mean."

I didn't answer right away. I didn't think he'd believe me if I told him who I was pursuing. It all could've been my paranoia playing tricks on me making me think she was really there. But I felt that cold. That cold that'll forever haunt me.

I pulled myself farther up my bed until I was leaning up against the headboard, my knees brought up to my chest. I didn't bother to make eye contact. "I-I was chasing Maleficent. I swear I saw her shadow fleeing away, and didn't want to risk losing her."

"But what if it wasn't her you were after?"

"Then I've officially gone crazy."

It went silent. I heard soft movement, and the next thing I knew, Milo was crawling onto the bed next to me, wrapping his arms around me. "You're not crazy, Moira. You're just highly overprotective. And that's completely understandable with what went down today. You shouldn't blame yourself for your actions. If anyone is to blame, it's those godforsaken Villains."

"Dusk was right about them cracking down hard. I never imagined that they would target the guests."

"I guess none of us did. But it was bound to happen with our knowledge or not. We're all just fortunate that we were there at the right time."

"But what if I hadn't gotten there, too? What if it had gotten worse than it did? I swear, if something were to happen to you or Dusk, I don't know what I'd do."

He gently gripped my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. They had a slight twinkle, and his soft smile was enough to calm me down even just a little bit. "Moira, you do realize everything we've already been through, right? What do you think is worse, being beheaded, or a haywire rollercoaster?" I managed to release a small giggle. "Even before all this started, we've been through hell and back. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if you asked."

"Really?"

"Of course! You're my little sister. I wouldn't abandon you for anything." That right there was enough. I tightly wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him as if I might lose him. "Now let's get some sleep. I hear there's an early employee meeting in the morning." I nod with a small smile, and Milo replaces himself within his own bed across the room.

I could already tell this employee meeting is only for the 3 of us, and Milo doesn't know about Gordon yet, so that's something I need to remind him about.

As soon as Milo is secured, I shut off the lamp light, and drift off to sleep.

The meeting was held in a back room at the informational building in Main Street. On the way, I did inform Milo that Gordon was on our side of things as he was involved. Surely he didn't mind.

As Gordon entered, he seemed a bit older than he should be. His eyes were slightly red from exhaustion, and he moved as if he were waterlogged. I could tell he was in desperate need of a break, and who knows how long it's been since he's had one of those?

"Let's start business. Tonight is Fantasmic. This show is filled with Villains, as it is your basic Villain takeover show, so it'll be fairly easy for any real Villain to mimic that of a Cast Member. Moira, I'm putting you in your usual position as mechanics supervisor. Milo, you'll be joining her. Dusk, you'll be on lookout. If anything happens, and I mean anything, no matter how small it may be, you shut the show down, raise the fountains. I do not want a repeat of yesterday. Are we clear?" We all nod, and part ways. As I go to leave, Gordon stops me. "Why don't you take daytime hours off. The guys can join you if they please. I just think you need a bit of a break."

"Thanks, Gordon. I think we all do."

Knowing me, I didn't exactly decide to take an entire day off. Instead, I lessened my work load, and managed the Carousel, this time teaching Milo how to work the switchboard, while Dusk calmly observed. He was catching on fairly quickly, but I really wasn't allowed to let him fully operate out it, so in small time bursts would I let him handle it for a few minutes.

"So!" began Dusk, clapping his hands together. "Tonight should be fairly interesting."

"Please don't remind me," I groaned. "Anything that could go wrong most likely will go wrong."

"As that may be true, there is only one thing I could think of them using to their full advantage." I cocked an eyebrow at him, awaiting his supposed answer. "The dragon."

"If we're going to go with the theory that the Villains are surely gonna take over tonight, you might as well just say Maleficent."

"Hey, guys, should we really be talking about this out in the open?" asked Milo as he stopped the Carousel to allow guests to exit and new ones to enter.

"He's kind of right," I said. "We have all of tonight to prepare. And really don't want to risk anyone possibly hearing us since we're the only ones who can interact with the Toon Reality."

"Fine, alright," said Dusk. "I'll see you both tonight at the stage. We'll discuss a game plan then."

The audience for Fantasmic were massive as usual. We had made a few changes to the show, such as changing the Peter Pan scene to Pirates of the Caribbean and adding in Aladdin.

In the hours leading up to now, I thought of what could possibly be done to keep any threatening Villains at bay. Speaking to the boys at the control room, I told them, "I'm just going to admit that I'm not entirely worried about the 1st half of the show-"

"You mean the 1st half that now has the Pirates of the Caribbean segment?" inquired Dusk.

I sighed. "Yes! I'm not worried about that exactly. Just treat everything normally until it gets to the Evil Queen's segment. There's a backup where the actress portraying the Evil Queen has to wear a white wig just in case she can't make her exit to allow the Old Hag to come on. What I want to happen is Milo, you're going to manage the stage lift. Do not let her leave the stage. The only way we can see if she's an actress or not is if she pulls off the backup. If she still manages to turn into the Old Hag without exiting . . ."

"Then it's really her and we're borderline screwed?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Fine. But what about-"

"Dusk, I swear mention that Dragon one more time! If you're so worried about it, you can be in charge of it!"

"If I'm on technicals, and Dusk is on Dragon duty, what are you going to be up to?" asked Milo.

"Simple. I'm going to be monitoring the entire thing to make sure everything goes according to plan."

"So you're just going to be kicking back while Dusk and I do the dirty work?"

"Excuse you! Try spending a day in my shoes and you'll be wanting the same thing!"

"Will the two of you shut up and get to positions! The shows about to start!" said Dusk. Milo marched to be placed underneath the stage, managing the lift. Dusk followed me to side stage right, standing by where the Mark Twain Riverboat stops in the finale. The lights dimmed down, and I turned the volume down on the walkie-talkie I had acquired.

I glanced at Dusk, and in a whisper said, "Shouldn't you be at the Dragon's cave?"

"I will in a while. I just want to make sure you're situated. Like you said, anything can happen. You might need backup." I smiled at him and nodded, then focused my gaze onto the stage as the show was beginning.

" _Welcome to Fantasmic! Tonight, our friend and host, Mickey Mouse, uses his vivid imagination to create magical imagery for all to enjoy. Nothing is more wonderful than the imagination-for in a moment, you can experience a beautiful fantasy or an exciting adventure! But beware . . . nothing is more powerful than the imagination-for it can also expand your greatest fears into an overwhelming nightmare_ . . ."

As the Snow White barge floated off, and Dusk helped the actors off as it docked next to us, I saw the Evil Queen enter and the music turned ominous. "Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space! Through wind and darkness, I summon thee. Speak!" With a crash of thunder, the Magic Mirror projection appears.

The Magic Mirror says, "Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold: three lovelier Protectors I see. And here, in Mickey's Imagination, beauty and love will always supplieth." I froze, and I could tell Dusk went tense, as well. Did I seriously hear lovelier Protectors? The line is supposed to be lovelier maids!

I grabbed my walkie, and turned it on. "Milo, are you ready?"

" _I hope you know what you're doing, Moira. They're threatening me with my job because I won't let them near the lift_." I honestly felt bad for him down there. This is a very stressful show for anyone to function. Malfunctions are bound to happen at any minute, and I'm surprised they don't happen more often than they do.

I watched the Evil Queen hover over her cauldron, waving her hands over it as she chanted her spell. "A magic spell in the black of night! With a scream of fright! And a bolt of light! Turn my hair to white!" I gripped Dusk's hand tightly watching the scene unfold.

Heavy amounts of fog covered the stage for 20 seconds. And then . . . the cackle matched the face. Somehow the Old Hag was on the stage. I again reached for my walkie. "Milo! I told you not to use the lift!"

" _I didn't! I swear!_ " With the Wand Charm I wore, I knew he wasn't lying.

A montage of different Villains was playing on the projection screen. I felt Dusk give my hand a squeeze before bolting to the other side of the stage to help manage the Dragon's entrance. And I just stood there feeling helpless. I was shaking with anticipation, just waiting for anything to happen.

Then I hear static come from my walkie. I hold it up to my mouth with a shaky hand, pressing down the button to hear Dusks voice. " _Moira! We_ _have a slight issue!_ "

"I doubt it's anything slight. What's wrong?"

" _The Dragon won't work_!"

"Come again?"

" _The damn animatronic Dragon won't activate_!" Now was a time to freak out. If the Dragon wasn't going to come out, then the Maleficent Cast Member will be lifted by a mechanically operated pillar.

The smoke finally cleared out revealing Mickey and Maleficent. Maleficent says, "Now you'll have to deal with me-and all the powers of my imagination!" This sent chills up my spine for one reason, and one reason only. As she was saying this line, she wasn't looking at Mickey. She was looking past him, directly at me with a twisted toothy smile.

I wanted to move, I wanted to run away, but for some reason my feet wouldn't cooperate with me. She was lifted up by the pillar, her staff pointed outward. I couldn't exactly tell who she was aiming for, Mickey or me. But it was clearly me because when I went to notify Dusk of what was happening, an electric green zap shot my walkie out of my hands.

It happened so fast that I had to blink a few times to process what happened. I looked to my left and saw a Cast Member, Lawrence I think it was. He was prepping for the finale, but what I really needed his walkie.

"Psst! Lawrence, I need your walkie!"

He looked at me unamused. "What happened to yours?"

"It kind of blew up in my hands! Now would you just give me the damn thing!"

I hardly waited for him to unhook it from his belt before snatching it from him. "Dusk! Dusk, are you there?"

" _Moira? What's wrong? I lost connection on your end. I thought something might've happened_."

"Sort of. I was nearly zapped to death. Where are you?"

" _Just finished restoring the Dragon. Gonna have to do a hydraulics check_ -"

"Shut up! I don't care about that right now! The one thing we should worry about is . . ." I looked back up to the pillar and saw that Maleficent is gone.

" _Moira? Moira, you there_?"

"She's gone . . ." I said in barely a whisper.

" _What_?"

"Maleficent! She's gone!"

" _What do you mean she's gone? You're standing right there!_ "

"Don't you go accusing me of anything! I glanced away for a minute, I turn back, and she's not there! I honestly don't know what to do at this point!"

" _Alright, relax. I'll be there in-_ -"

Static overcame the walkie, cutting Dusks voice off. I tried calling his name, but nothing came through.

My heart was dropping miles and miles. Is this what he felt when my walkie blew up and went silent like this?

I had the urge to run to the other side to see if he was okay, but I was painfully restrained when a sharp hand pulled me back by my hair. I didn't have to look to realize who it was. The small menacing chuckle was enough. "Move," she hissed. She pushed me onto the stage where heavy amounts of fog had spilled, covering up most of our bodies. I stared out into the audience. They had eyes of awe and suspense. They all thought this was staged when in reality, my life was on the line.

Maleficent pulled out a large silver needle from her robes, holding it out dramatically as if this was still a show. She laughed maniacally, sending chills down my spine. She yelled, "This is what happens when Imaginations collide!" She was about to pierce my neck, but someone pulled her back and I was pulled away by my waist.

I looked at who was holding me back and saw it was Milo. He then ripped my Charm Necklace from my neck and threw it towards the stage. Amidst the fog, I saw that Dusk had caught it, attaching it to his neck.

He looked pained, his teeth clenched tightly, and his eyes were almost squinting. He was also breathing hard I noticed as he summoned the wand. But instead of it being gold, it was silver.

I wanted so much to go out and help him, but Milo had such a tight grip around me. It was almost hard to breathe.

I saw the fountains at the front of the stage were full blast, blocking the audience view. It must've been one of the boys since they're the only ones who knew exactly what was happening.

Dusk was in a full on battle with Maleficent, blocking any blast thrown at him, and vise versa. The way he moved was like something was holding him down.

Finally he stopped, panting and sweating profusely. He raised the wand high into the air, made eye contact with me, smiled, and then . . .

It happened so fast yet it everything was in slow motion. A huge red and yellow blast erupted from the wand, covering the entire staging area, blinding me and Milo. He hugged me close to his chest to protect me from the blast.

Once the blinding light faded seconds later, I saw that Maleficent was gone, and Dusk was lying on the floor, unconscious.

I gasped breaking from Milo's grip and slid onto my knees next to his body. I put my hands to his chest but didn't feel a heartbeat.

I shook him. "Come on, Dusk. You need to get up. She's gone." But he didn't respond. "Dusk, please!" I was on the verge of tears as I shook him harder. But he still didn't respond.

Milo knelt down beside me, wrapping his arms around me again, but this time it was more soothing than restraining. I couldn't hold it back anymore. I hugged Milo tightly, silently crying into his shoulder. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Milo was allowing a few tears to roll past his cheeks.

Calming myself down, I pulled down the collar of Dusks shirt to take back the Charms. But before I even snapped them off, I noticed that these Charms weren't the ones I had collected. They had changed. And I realized this because I recognized the Rocket Ship Charm where the Saturn Charm should've been.

Another thing that caught my attention was that his entire chest where the necklace had been was badly burned and scarred.

I finally took the necklace off of him and placed it around my neck, and the Charms reverted back to the ones I was familiar with. Milo had stood up, holding out a hand to help me up.

When I took it, I sensed movement next to me. I looked down at Dusks body, which looked still as death. But then I saw it. His head was slowly moving side to side, and his eyes were clenched tightly.

I knelt back down to his side, placing my hands back on his chest. Before I could say his name, his hand covered mine and his eyes fluttered open.

He just stared at me. I honestly was at a lost for words. He let out a shaky sigh and said, "I'm in this deeper than I've led you on to believe."

"Oh, Dusk. What do you mean?"

"Well . . Let's just say Dusk isn't my real name."

"Let's not worry about that now. You need serious medical attention." I grasped Dusks hands and helped to pull him up, in which he stumbled a bit, but I managed to catch him.

I slung his arm around my shoulders and wrapped mine around his waist. "Milo?" I muttered.

"Don't worry. I'll lead the way," he said. He walked ahead of Dusk and I. I wanted to keep ourselves slow so I didn't pain him.

Along the way, I couldn't help but run Dusk's words in my head. He's in deeper than he's told me? His name's not Dusk? I kept glancing at this poor boy hanging on to me and felt that he couldn't be anything bad. After seeing him in action, he's anything but!

At the moment, I didn't care what or who he was. I'll be happy once he's safe in my hotel room.

 **Eey! Long time no see! I thought I'd do something new where I answer/reply to people reviews at the end of chapters. So here we go!**

 **STICKSBRANCHESROOTS: I agree. A name like Gordon doesn't seem very trust worthy. But the name came to me just out of nowhere. Unlike Moira and Milo's name's hold meaning that'll be revealed towards the end of this fic. I would love to read your fic! It seems interesting just by reading the title. And yes, I wish there was a Hunchback of Notre Dame ride or experience so I could incorporate it heavily into the story. But I might be able to make some form of references or mentions. I'll be brainstorming that for you.**

 **RENNYANGELEE: Thank you for enjoying the fic! And thank you for the reminder of the quoting. I'll be sure to look over the chapters to see if someone's quotes needs to be emphasized. I just edited the last 8 chapters, so hopefully I caught them and fixed them.**

 **JOHNHAMMOND1993: When I first read your review, I felt sad knowing there isn't an Up ride. BUT I remembered the Wilderness Explorers area in California Adventures. So yes! I will brainstorm an UP chapter with Charles Muntz.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Dusk**

I finally brought Dusk into my hotel room. Milo helped me to lay him down on my bed. He was breathing hard, still in pain.

"I'll go talk to Gordon," said Milo, leaving the two of us alone.

I sat next to him, taking his limp hand into mine. I ran my fingers through his hair, which was damp with cold sweat. His brows were scrunched, probably in pain, and he was breathing hard and heavy.

I gently ran my fingers through his hair, which seemed to calm him down a bit. But this also allowed me to feel how his body was trembling. I softly planted my hand upon his chest, and my god, his heart was beating rapidly. "Dusk, just breathe," I said with as much softness as I could muster. As he was trying to follow my words, I began to stroke his chest soothingly, feeling the bumpy scars underneath his shirt, which was beginning to dampen with sweat.

He was almost calmed down about 4 minutes later. He still looked very exhausted and I could tell by the way he squinted his eyes that he wouldn't be able to stay conscious for long. Which I was fine with. He needs rest. More than anything.

He placed a shaky hand over mine, gripping it tightly as if he was scared to let me go, and said, "You're something else, you know that?"

"Wh--What do you mean?"

"You were pretty reckless. Your actions were sloppy and last minutes, despite the vaguely detailed plan you'd created. You even let yourself get restrained by--"

"I get it! No need to rub it in. No one's perfect. But I wanted to ask . . . what was she going to do? Maleficent, I mean."

He paused, contemplating his words. He then turned over his left arm to reveal a medium sized black puncture mark that rested on his forearm. "I got this a few months after becoming a Guardian. I didn't have a Saviour at the time, so I was managing the Charms. It was after closing, and I was doing a small patrol through Fantasyland. And as I was passing through the Castle, I felt that cold. It was my first time, too. I thought nothing of it, so I continued on, but . . . God, it happened so fast!"

"What happened?" His grip on my hand tightened even more.

"It was her. She came out of nowhere, and . . . she . . ." He was struggling. I reassured him that he didn't need to go on, but he strongly insisted. "What she was going to do to you tonight was what she did to me years ago. I wanted to tell you the minute I met you. But I was--"

"Scared?"

"Heavily. I thought you'd resign your title. Run away from me. Hate me even for keeping this from you for so long."

"Well, if you're thinking this, then you've clearly haven't met me. There's is nothing that could ever make me hate you, Dusk. I'm always going to be here. I couldn't run away even if I wanted to. You can tell me anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't be saying so if I wasn't," I smiled.

He sucked in a shaky breath, his final grip on my hand turned his knuckles white. "I'm cursed, Moira. That needle . . . when I saw her hold it against your neck, I admit, I freaked. I was willing to risk myself . . . even risk resuccummbing to whatever darkness she once had over me. Back then, back when it first happened, I was her slave, her plaything. It's . . . It's my fault the Charms and this world was put into jeopardy. It took everything I had to fight against whatever evil she had injected into my veins. And the amount I fought off wasn't enough to make me whole. My entire identity was ripped away from me! I can't even remember my real name!"

"Even so . . . I still think you're the bravest person I've ever met." His head snapped towards me, making straight eye contact, something he was completely avoiding up until now. His eyes held unbelievement with a glisten of hope. "Sure, you may still have some villainy in you, and you were a pawn in Maleficent's twisted game, but none of that adds up to who you are now. You can turn against me, hurt me, curse my name, but no matter what, I'll still see you as the Guardian who changed my views on the reality we live in, and the fantasy we all crave. I fantasy that I plan on saving . . . with you. And so, I'm adding another task to our list. And that is to break your curse."

"What?! Moira, that would mean--"

"Going up against Maleficent, I know. But it's worth it. Just like tonight, I'm willing to risk myself if it means saving someone I care about. And once I put my mind to something, there's no changing it. So you can't decline!"

"Fine, fine. I won't." He smiled. Finally, for the first time in hours, he smiled. He then pulled me down into him, wrapping his arms tightly around me in a hug that meant thanks and gratefulness. A hug filled with love and care that said we'll get through this without any words.

And in this moment, I realized that I was putting my trust in someone who can easily snap and throw that trust right back at me without hesitation. And he was trusting me, as well, to save a world he was thrown into without a second glance. But it was worth it. I know it'll all be worth in the end. It has to.

Once the embrace broke, I summoned my wand, and said, "Now I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." Dusk then stared at me with a questionable squint, clearly not understanding my true motives. "Don't be such a baby about it. You want those scars healed up, or not?"

"You don't have a Healing Charm."

"If you just do as I say, I'll show you what I can heal." Fearing my threatening wrath, Dusk swiftly removed his shirt. And what graced his pale skin sent shivers down my spine. Starting from the center of his chest and ending at the bottom base of his rib cage was a large, wide, raw red burn mark, the edges thick as its dryness scarred up. And right along his collarbone was burn indents of the shapes of the Charms he wore. Those were the ones I could get rid of.

I touched the tip of my wand to the first one, and watched as fresh skin grew over it, making it seem as if nothing had happened. Dusk watched me do this in awe. He most likely didn't know this was possible. So before be could question me, I said, "I did the same for Milo. Remember the aftermath of his love curse? Well his sudden vulnerability and depression was caused by a burn mark in the shape of a Mickey head; the very Charm I used to snap him from the spell he was under. Some intuition told me to do this, it just felt right." After I healed the last shapely burn mark, Dusks trembling ceased, and color faded back into his skin. His nervous sweating stopped, as well. I guess the effects of these Charms are different for everyone. I'd hate to find out what the effect is with me. "As for this other injury, it's gonna take a bit more than magic to heal. And I know you're going to hate hearing this, but--"

"You want me to stay out of trouble until you find me stable. I get it. I'm gonna admit, it'll be hard. You sure you'll be alright on your own?"

"I won't be alone. I have Milo."

"You know what I mean."

"I know. But this'll be my chance to show the kind of Saviour I am and strive to be."

"Oh, Moira, you've already proven that."

"Really? And when was that?"

"The first day I met you."

That night, I didn't leave his side. We shared that single bed, his arms wrapped around me protectively when he was the one needing the protecting in his damaged state. But I allowed it, nonetheless.

Things were going to change, that much I knew. Things were going to get tougher, more dangerous. And I had to be ready to jump without warning. And now I felt like I was. But now I had a new task, and even if we collect all the Charms and restore peace to the park and Toon World, I'll continue to restore the life Dusk once had. Restore the identity he lost against his will. Dusk has been my Guardian long enough. It's time I become his Saviour.

 **Here's some Dusk and Moira fluff! I kind of rushed this chapter cuz I wanted to get this out to you guys to prove I'm not dead. I'm sorry for taking so long. College is a bitch. Anyway, if you look on my profile, you'll see I have 2 stories in the works: Scars Tattoos will be my next story, but it'll take much longer to get ready to publish. It's gone through more drafts than this story, and continues to do so. It's also heavily driven and influenced by Irish Mythology, so thats another reason why it'll take a while. But anyway, enjoy and stick around for future uploads!**


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter is dedicated/suggested/requested by JOHNHAMMOND1993. I know it isn't going exactly by your request, but I still you like it!**

 **Chapter 11: Adventure Is Out There!**

If there was one attraction I would pick for the park to get rid of, it would be the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. It's basically a large obstacle-esque course, complete with a rock climbing course, 2 small slides, large lookout towers with rope bridges, a tire swing, and large redwood stump guests can walk through. This entire area used to be completely dedicated to Brother Bear, but ever since the release of Up, it's been changed to the Wilderness Explorers Camp, with the Spirit Caves next door being related to Brother Bear.

I didn't exactly plan to monitor Redwood Creek. I was going to assist the Imagineering Crew to fix the Dragon, and discuss closing down Fantasmic altogether. For how long, I can't even say. But even after last night's events, Gordon didn't want me to be seen alone. So starting today, I have to be with the boys, whether it be both or separately. Hence why I'm forced to work with, or in this case, near Milo until Dusk is fully recovered. For now, I forced him to stay bedridden, and move as little as possible.

In order for Milo to stick by my side, Gordon managed to change his job position to basically all of them. He kept his Face Character job, but his vending job was changed to him becoming a Swing. Usually a term used in theatre, Milo basically takes on any Cast Member or, with my approval, Imagineering job if there's someone who needs to be covered, or if there's a small opening. Because that was a rarity, he would be able to spend most of his time with me if he wasn't on character duty.

The 2 of us were set on monitoring the Ranger Towers. There was only 1 girl, maybe close to my age, milling about, so we kept an eye on her. Maybe too close of an eye because Milo noticed how stiff and alert I grew as she was beginning to make her way across the larger rope bridge. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and began rubbing my arms to ground me. "Relax. She's stable enough."

"Milo, there aren't safety nets underneath. If something were to happen, we can easily be sued for that!"

"Yes, but knowing you and the situation we're in, I have the feeling that being sued is the least of your worries. I know what happened last night was a wake up call, and, by what Gordon told me, we're on high alert, but you still need to keep yourself steady. You're going to drive yourself insane if you keep this up."

"How is it that you're so calm?"

He shrugged. "Someone has to be. Between you and Dusk, I feel like I have to be even a little optimistic. You know I've never been one to get too worked up."

I relaxed some and leaned into his touch. He then pulled me back into him and held me by my shoulders as we kept watch of the young woman, who was now in the middle of the rope bridge, struggling to get her ankle free from one of the holes it had become stuck in.

As this seemed to take longer than it should've, I began to grow wary. So I walked a couple of feet from Milo and called up to her. "Are you alright up there?!"

She looked around her for the source of my voice. She finally landed on my figure as I waved to her. She waved back. "I'm fine!" And that seemed to be it.

A few seconds later, she got her foot free, and kept her head down as she was regaining her balance. I kept my eyes on her, whilst Milo had his eyes elsewhere, specifically a few feet in front of her.

He tapped my shoulder to get my attention and pointed to the end of the bridge. Standing guard, and quite fiercely, was a very familiar Dobberman.

I ran till I was almost right under her- waving my arms as her head was still down. "Miss! Don't go any farther! You must exit the tower!"

She looked down at me, her face etched with confusion. I pointed to the dog, that was now growling at her, and she flinched back. "How did a dog get up here?" she shuddered. _I'm surprised you're no wondering 'why'_ , I thought.

"Stay right there! Don't move until I reach you!" I received a slow nod as a response. She kept her eyes on, who I assumed to be, Alpha.

I ran past Milo and began climbing the Ranger Towers. "You're not seriously going up there, are you?"

"Someone has to! She's my responsibility! If I don't do something now, it'll be California Screamin' all over again!"

"Then I'm coming with you!"

"But you hate heights."

"If it means potentially saving someone's life, then I think I can get over it for a bit." I smiled at him, grabbed his hand, and made our way to the girls position as quickly as possible.

Upon arrival, it had looked like Alpha was about ready to charge at the poor girl. In order for her to have a quick rescue, Milo and I had a plan. Milo held onto the wooden plank part of the bride was tied to, and held me hand with his other. Then I carefully made my way to her, stretching my hand out to her. "Quick! Grab on!" She glanced back at me, then at Alpha, who was pawing at the floor.

She shakily gripped onto my hand, and I hers. And in one swift motion, I swung her back into Milo's grasp, leaving me on the bridge. But the moment the girl was safe off the bridge, Alpha made his immediate move and charged at me.

It happened so quick. One moment, I'm facing towards Milo, the next, I'm being pinned down.

I had my arm pressed against his neck, preventing him from ripping my throat out, as he was trying to do so. I heard Milo calling for me, but I told him to get the girl off the tower.

I quickly summoned my wand and touched the tip of it to Alpha's neck, shocking him. He whined and cowered off me. I managed to sit up and catch my breath.

While Alpha was shaking the feeling of electricity out of his body, I decided to try to take my leave.

I went to clamber back up onto my feet, but that damn dog got the best of me and sunk his teeth into my left ankle, pulling me back down.

I winced in pain. He tried dragging me, but I held onto the rope for dear life, pulling myself. I really didn't understand how this dog was so strong, but then I remembered he's a Disney character, so just about anything is possible.

My muscles began to burn, and I didn't know how much longer I could climb out of Alpha's grasp. My hands were getting rope burn and I was past the point of exhaustion.

I was about to let go, and I heard Alpha whine and whimper. I jutted my leg up and felt it free from his teethy grip.

I turned onto my side, squinting through the suns sharp rays and saw Dusk standing over me, breathing hard. He was no doubt in pain from fending off that dog.

"I thought I told you to stay in bed!" I yelled at him.

He smiled and crossed his arms. "Yeah, well I don't follow the rules."

"What happened to Alpha?"

"He was practically using you as a chew toy, and you're wondering what happened to him?"

"I just want to make sure he's not attacking anymore guests!"

"I handled it. Don't worry. He fled the scene, tail between his legs."

"And what exactly does 'I handle it' mean in your book?" His smile widened, and he winked at me. I sighed, flopping onto my back, allowing my eyes to close. "You're right. I really don't want to know." I heard traces of his deep chuckle, and the next thing I knew, his arms were under me, and he was carrying me. "Dusk, put me down! You're in no condition to be supporting weight as heavy as me! Hell, you shouldn't be carrying a chair! And don't you dare deny it because I can feel how tight your muscles and breathing is!"

"You're the Saviour, I'm the Guardian. You're Guardian."

"But I thought it was the Saviour's job to do the saving. It's literally in the name!"

"Well, then you're just going to have to accept the fact that I'm stubborn and care too much."

"And I'm saying this because I care as well, you're hurting yourself helping me. Honestly, it's just a dog bite. I didn't get blown up like you did. I can manage a small limp. You have scars littering your whole torso. Now I'm telling you to put me down right now before you make yourself worse!" This time, he didn't respond. He just tightened his arms around me and kept walking. He didn't even look at me. So I just gave up trying to reason with him, and let him do what he wanted.

I saw Milo still had that girl with him, who still looked shaken up. I only hoped she didn't me summon my wand, but those hopes were shattered when Milo looked me in the eyes and nodded, silently answering that question.

Once Dusk put me down, Milo rushed over to us, speaking in a hushed whisper. "You think we should tell Gordon? She's seen and heard pretty much everything."

"Would it be possible to just ask her to forget everything?" asked Dusk.

I rolled my eyes, and replied, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but we can't exactly Obliviate her head. You can't just force someone to forget something. Especially something as traumatizing as this. Milo's right. We have to bring her to Gordon. He's been doing this longer than you. He'll know how to handle it."

Dusks lips went into a stiff thin line as he sucked in a sharp breath and nodded in agreement. I looked at Milo, and he nodded as well.

So, I approached the young woman, who stood nearby, her arms wrapped around her waist and her head slightly down. I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her in the process. As she looked at me, I offered a reassuring smile before softly speaking to her. "Miss, what I'm going to do is escort you to my boss. He's going to help handle this situation, as well as make sure you're okay. Obviously, my number one priority is your safety, though I'm sure this afternoon wasn't an indicative example of that."

"Will you be able to explain what happened?" she asked.

"We'll sure do our best." She hesitantly nodded, and followed behind me, Milo, and Dusk. I made sure to stay closer to the girl, but not too close as I could sense she was wary of me, and probably the boys.

The walk to the main Disneyland park was quiet. And for me, it was an uncomfortable quiet that forces your thoughts to fill in the silence.

I looked at the confused young woman who still hung her head, avoiding any eye contact, her hands clasped in front of her. I hope she doesn't blame herself for any of this. She was the simple act of timing, though I'm sure if it wasn't her, it would've been another unsuspecting guest. So altogether, this matter would still be unavoidable.

I looked back at the boys, who walked in sync with each other, their shoulders brushing against each other every few feet. No doubt playing the role of a body guard.

By the time we reached the Disneyland park entrance, I thought I'd break the ever growing silence. I slowed my pace to match the girl's before asking, "So, got a name?"

She shyly looked at me, and softly spoke, "Eleanor."

"I'm Moira. Head mechanic."

"Yeah, she's the only mechanic," called Milo. He turned over his shoulder with a smile and said, "I'm Milo, by the way. Face character and Swing here at the park." I saw Eleanor nod with a small smile growing on her lips.

I cleared my throat to get Dusks attention. He only glanced at us before facing forward once more, emotionlessly muttering, "Dusk."

"Dusk?" Eleanor spoke up. "Is that really your name?"

I saw his body tense and his mouth waver with hesitation. "Yes."

Eleanor shrunk back, averting her eyes from him. I slung an arm around her shoulders. "Don't mind him. It's in his nature to be dark and brooding." She smiled again, nodding.

We all stopped when Dusk halted. He pointed to where Gordon was, which was in front of the Firehouse speaking to 3 Imagineers, most likely about the Halloween decorating taking place tomorrow night as October 1st was officially this coming Sunday.

I pushed myself in front of the boys and Eleanor, approaching Gordon cautiously as to not rudely disturb his conversation. Upon seeing me, and the boys behind me, he waved off the Imagineers to give me his full attention. "What's the story, kiddo?"

"We have a slight issue." I moved to the side to reveal the shy figure of Eleanor, who looked like she was trying to shrink back into herself. "She saw some things, and we really don't know how to explain it to her. We thought maybe you could talk to her. She's pretty shaken up, and we felt that if we just hit her with the truth, she not only wouldn't believe us, but might have some form of mental distress."

Gordon nodded and approached Eleanor, planting a hand on her shoulder and bending down to reach her height. "Tell me everything that happened." And that's what she did. Except she didn't make any references to Disney. She simply stated that Milo and I had saved her from being attacked by a vicious Dobberman and shocked him with some type of device, though I did notice Gordon perk up at the mention of the dog breed, fully knowing that breed was only used once.

Finishing up explaining her point of view of the afternoon's events, she then said, "I honestly don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. I really do appreciate your help, and yes, I'm slightly confused as to what really happened, but I really am alright. Moira here took the heat of what could've been addressed to me."

Gordon looked at me. "Is that true?"

"He only snagged my ankle a bit. It's really no harm done. It's not like I'm limping, or anything. Her safety was my main focus."

"I see." He ran a hand through his greying hair for a few minutes, before addressing us again. And my us, I mean Eleanor. "I suppose one more couldn't hurt. It was Eleanor, right? How would you like to join our team?"

Dusk, Milo, and I both exclaimed our disbelief in hard gasps. I was the first to question his quick decision. "But sir, we already have 3 of us. Plus we're in too deep to add anyone else! They'll just look at her as fresh meat and target her more than us! And we can't risk her safety, though it already is since she was already targeted. 4 is too much to keep track of."

"Moira, she's already seen your wand. And I'm already fully aware you're quite the social butterfly when it comes to Villains. I just thought having 4 would help our odds."

"Yes, but would Walt want that?"

"I'm sorry, but could someone please explain this to me?" Eleanor intervened. "Did you say 'Wand?' I honestly thought you were using some type of taser. And Walt, as in Walt Disney? And Villains? Am I hearing you correctly?"

"You are," said Dusk. "We are basically at war with the Villains of the park, and we're working day and night to cut them down. But I agree with Moira. It's too risky to just throw someone else into this mess."

"I think we could use the extra help," said Milo.

"Milo, you're supposed to be on my side with this!" I argued. "Dusk was literally blown up by Maleficent last night! Things are way too tight right now!"

"I haven't been affected by it."

"Are you kidding me?! May I remind you of the "love" curse that caused you to nearly-"

"ENOUGH!" I was interrupted by Gordon. He very rarely gets this worked up. But when he is, it can get quite scary. So when he blew up at us, I'm smart to not argue back. "The point is that she has already been involved. We can't reverse today's events. We can only move forward. You will fill her in on our situation, you will explain what has already happened, and you will explain her . . position. Now, this conversation is over, and I don't want to hear anymore about it. Yes, Dusk nearly died last night, Moira, you've had your fair amount, and Milo . . . As Moira said, you were cursed. But either way, she will be joining us. With that being said, Moira, decorating duty, tomorrow night. I'll see you then."

"Y-Yes, sir." He gave us a sharp nod, and left us. I rubbed my temples, already feeling a headache growing, before releasing a heavy sigh. "Come on. There's a vacant room across from mine."

Dusk had retreated to his room, while Milo and I had escorted Eleanor to ours. I detached my nametag and threw it onto my nightstand before turning towards Eleanor. "I'm real sorry about all this. We didn't mean to drag you in."

"Oh, that's quite alright. I don't mean to be a burden. I just don't know what to tell my parents."

"Well, you could simply explain that I needed help with a small mechanical mishap and you were the closest person to me. And after seeing your skills, I offered you a job as my protege."

"But I don't have any mechanical history."

"Ever changed a lightbulb?"

"Of course!"

"Then you have mechanical history." I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand, and it was already a quarter to 4. "How about you go to your room and settle in. Sleep this through and we'll talk in the morning. And by we, I mean the boys. As you heard Gordon, the Halloween season waits for no one."

"Sure. I guess I'll see you soon, then."

"Right. Have good night."

"I'll escort you," offered Milo.

"Milo, the door is 2 feet away," I explained.

"Yeah, well, you were attacked in this very room. The hallway could be more dangerous since it's out in the open."

I narrowed my eyes at his stupid excuse, releasing a silent sigh. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

 **Dusks P.O.V**

Moira turned her back on me, and made her way to the window, her arms crossed as she peered out. But knowing her, she was most likely staring at nothingness, lost in her own mind. So I only shrugged and kindly escorted Eleanor to her room, which was 4 feet away. Not 2.

We stopped in front of the door, facing each other. "Don't worry about her. She can be pretty moody at times. She's just letting the situation get to her head."

"I understand. I don't blame her at all. Everything happened so quickly, she'll probably need to recover from it, surely."

"Are you okay? After what happened?"

"It'll take some time to get over, but I'll be fine. I'll admit, it is a lot to take in. How did you handle it at first?"

"I was pretty much thrown in, as well. But I still believed her, nonetheless. Moira and I have been friends since we were kids. I couldn't say no. If she believed it, then so do I. I trust her."

"Well, in that case, so do I."

I smiled at her, glad she had finally broken out of the shell she had built up just moments before being forced into this mess. But as I looked at her, I got to really look at her. Her skin was the perfect shade of peach, her curly chocolate brown hair spiraled down to the center of her back, perfectly matching the shade of brown in her eyes, which also held a starry shine. And her lips . . . Her lips were a very light shade of pink. She had amazing posture. Her shoulders never faltered as she stood straight as a plank of wood.

I had realized I was staring a bit too long as she released a series of short small giggles. I cleared my throat and attempted to stand as straight as her. "Well, Miss Eleanor, I bid you-"

"Ellie."

"Pardon?"

"I prefer to be called Ellie. Eleanor is to formal to me, and frankly quite a mouthful."

"Then Ellie it is. I'll be at your door tomorrow morning at 10 AM sharp."

"I'll be waiting." She pulled her room key from her pocket, opened the door, and sent me a final wave goodbye before gently shutting it.

Now I just have to face the wrath of Moira. Hopefully she's calmed down by now.

 **Moira's P.O.V**

I heard the door open and close, but I didn't move from where I sat on the bed, gazing out the window. I knew it was Milo. I was fairly calm by now, and was ready to discuss upcoming events concerning Eleanor. That is until he said 4 insensitive words: "That went well."

I jumped up from my spot on the bed and faced him. "Well? You call what happened today 'well?' We just put an innocent girl's life in jeopardy! If you ask me, you weren't using your head."

"Really? Then what was I using? I wouldn't make this decision if I didn't think we needed it."

"Milo, no one makes these decisions that quickly if they're-" Just then, an idea popped into my head. It did make a little sense, based on how he behaved around her and treated her. The thought only made me want to know more. So I walked up to him, our noses just inches apart. "Milo, I want you to look me dead in the eyes and tell me you didn't just agree to have Eleanor join our team because you may possibly have feelings for her."

He took a deep calming breath before answering, "No, I honestly felt we could use the extra help. Nothing more." I continued to stare deeply into his eyes. And with a slight burn from my Wand Charm, I knew.

I huffed and and turned my back to him. "Fine. I expect you to fill her in on everything. I don't want to have to repeat myself."

"Fine. I'll take care of her. But please, Moira, don't let this nag at you any longer. What's done is done. Gordon's right. We have to just move on."

I only grunted at him as I reclaimed my spot on my bed, staring out the window at nothing. As much as it pains me to say it, I do blame Milo for this. This honestly could've happened with any guest, but if it wasn't Eleanor, I'm sure he would've sided with Dusk and I.

The burn my Wand Charm emitted answered my previous concern. And I never thought Milo would be capable of it since it's completely against his nature. He's never even done it when we were kids. For that burn sent by the Charm meant that he was lying to me.

 **Sorry for my absence. But here's another chapter. The next few chapters take place during the Halloween Season. And if I was consistent with my uploads, they would've been here during the actual holiday. But anyway, I already that planned out, and I'm pretty excited for you all to read them! For things get angsty! See you soon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Grim Grinning Ghosts Come Out to Socialize**

The next day, I found myself sitting at the bar in Club 33, playing with a tiny trinket of silver within my fingers. It was a Charm Milo had found: a bundle of balloons. I didn't know what it did, but I could hardly worry about that at the moment. I knew Milo was annoyed with me without even asking him. I knew from a simple note he left me on my bedside table with the Balloons' Charm. All it said was:

 _Found this while leaving Redwood,_

 _Milo_

He usually leaves me a practical essay telling me to be safe, don't electrocute myself, don't get run over by a running attraction cart, etc. But seeing just this short sticky-note kind of made me feel small. Yet there still could've been many many reasons as to why he chose to leave a short note. It was my damn paranoia twisting my mind to think the worst.

And then there was Eleanor. He was so quick to accept her, it worried me and Dusk. It was like he didn't believe in the concept of trust issues!

I was snapped out of my crowded thoughts when a figure stood before me behind the counter. I peered up and saw a boy with a sly grin. His hair was so unkempt, I had to fight the urge to fix it for him. "Boy trouble?" he asked.

I couldn't help but to smile back up at him. "Milo trouble."

"Ah, so Mr. Innocent ain't so innocent anymore. What'd he do to cause you to possibly drink your sorrows away?" Danny wasn't a serious person. At least, he knew the appropriate times to be playful and joke around, and when not to. I met him during my first week on the job. He was just starting out, too. At the beginning, we used to meet up after hours, the 3 of us: him, me, and Milo, and just laugh the night away. I didn't even realize it when we stopped. I guess we just got carried away with ourselves. Danny was still an amazing friend. Even though I've known Milo much much longer, Danny was still easier to talk to. With Milo, I had to think of the different reaction he could take before telling him anything. It was a process.

I finally attached the Balloon Charm to my necklace and made full eye contact with him. "I'm not really upset with him. I'm just annoyed. He just didn't take into consideration how me and my co-worker would feel, and just hired someone on the spot. If you were to see it through my eyes, you'd agree that he has Frozen Fever."

"Fever?"

"He's gone completely ga-ga for some girl he just met . . . or helped from an attraction malfunction. Of course, he'd deny it if I confronted him about it. But he's terrible at hiding his feelings. He even got up hours before I did to 'train her.'"

As I huffed, Danny laughed at me. Weird enough, it calmed me down. He really didn't need to say anything to make someone feel better. HIs presence was positive enough. "You know, I think I know just what you need."

"You do know I'm 1 year underaged, right?"

"Eh, close enough. We're starting a new line of Disney themed drinks, and I need someone to taste test the first one."

"I have never tasted a drop of alcohol in my life."

"Don't worry, I'll start you off small."

And he meant small. He put down in front of me a clear martini with a single cherry that was sunk at the bottom. "This is a cherry vanilla martini. You couldn't be more basic than this. I call it 'Zero's Flight.'"

"Cute. Cute name." All I did at the moment was stare down at it. I really have never had any type of alcohol in my life. I never partied as a teenage. Not even at any fancy gathering. I guess you have to start out sometime and somewhere. I ended up throwing back the small martini, making sure to catch the cherry in my teeth. In the end, it wasn't too bad. It was sweet and tart, there was a little bite to it, but not too much. Dare I say, I kind of enjoyed it. "Well, you're finally doing something right for once."

"That means a lot coming from you. But I have to ask, if I'm doing something, what are you up to?"

"I'm not due till tonight. Decoration duty, and such. I supposedly have day-time off, but knowing me, I don't know the meaning of 'day off.' I might just do some observation rounds, or just something to keep me and my mind busy. That something not being drinking on the job." That made Danny give me a wide teethy grin. I'll admit, it was contagious. "I'll be off, then. Maybe I'll stop by tonight . . . like old times. Or maybe you could, oh, I don't know, volunteer your time like you're asked. Every. Single. Celebration."

"I'll reconsider."

"Good enough for me. See you tonight. Hopefully." I sent him a playful glare, in which he returned a playful salute.

As I stood up to take my leave, I ran into a guest. A man. Or at least he was old enough to be considered a man. He looked like he could be much older than I perceived, but looked extremely young. He had shoulder length black hair he kept in a low ponytail. His skin looked very pale; paler than Dusk's. And while Dusks eyes were sharp, he looked faded and shallow. But the one thing I had to ask myself in this instance was, where the hell did this guy come from? I sat here for probably more than 30 minutes and didn't sense his presence next to me! "So sorry!" I managed to spew out. "Obviously wasn't paying too much attention."

"No, no, if anything, I should take the blame. Only seems right." His voice was soft and pretty proper, or 'pompous' as Milo would've put it.

I offered a smile and a slight giggle. "How's about we both take the blame? It'll be easier on us."

"Right," he laughed. He avoided my eyes, keeping his head a bit low. I couldn't tell if he was inspecting me, in an embarrassed way or perverted way. But in some way, he noticed my nametag. "You work here?"

I wasn't in my usual attire. Yesterday's events took an emotional toll on me, and I just didn't have the energy today. So I wore a black T-shirt with a light blue long-sleeved jumpsuit over it, but I had the top half tied around my waist. My name tag was sloppily pinned to my shirt, making it crooked. But still, I played everything off with a fake smile. "I do! Star mechanic of the park. The . . Only real mechanic of the park."

"That sound quite dreadful. How on earth do you keep up with everything?"

"I've been at it for quite some time. It's child's play at this point."

"Well, it's good to see a young face doing this type of work. You don't see that too often. Oh, I'm Allister, by the way."

He gingerly held out his hand. It was then I noticed his posture: so freaking perfect. I didn't think posture like that was even possible.

I took his hand, flinching and tensing up at his cold skin. I never got over the cold-attack in my hotel room. I don't think I ever will. "Moira . . . As you can see." I nodded towards my name tag.

"Well, Moira, I'll let you return to your work. No doubt I've taken too much of your time."

"Oh, no! It's-It's quite alright." He nodded, with a very faint twinkle in his eyes, the only sense of life in those dead orbs of his. Then, he slid his hand from mine, taking his leave. I couldn't help but watch him as he left.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be that person, but what just happened?" asked Danny from behind me.

"I don't know . . . But I think I liked it."

 **Milo's P.O.V**

"I don't think your friends like me," said Ellie. We were strolling through Adventureland, and I had just finished telling her all that me, Moira, and Dusk have done.

"Don't think that," I pleaded. "They were just stressed. Stress makes people do . . . things. Just don't worry. Today is a new day. I'm sure they've thought it over."

"But they seemed very adamant. I kind of agree. Isn't 4 a bit much? I wouldn't have tattled about anything."

I wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Honestly, I think we could use all the help we could get. Moira and Dusk are just a bit paranoid. They were actually chosen. We weren't. I was asked to help, and now I'm asking you."

"But what am I supposed to do? I'm just a stranger. You're actually close with them."

"At this point, just do what I do. We can't enter Realms without Dusk or Moira. And we don't exactly have any powers. The only power we have is our mind and physique. You seem like a pretty smart girl. You got muscle?"

"I'm as strong and brave as a bunny in a hurricane. I'm gonna be useless!"

"As long as you stick with me, you'll be okay. I caught on pretty well, and I'm sure you will , too." She gave me a small smile with a gentle nod. In my arm, she was a bit slouched over with her hands clasped in front of her. She was shy, but not afraid to voice her mind. A strange combination, but I loved every bit of it. "Hey, how about this, Imagineers are decorating the park for the Halloween season tonight after closing. Moira is forced to attend, and I'm volunteering. Why don't you go? Maybe talk to Moira and tell her your concerns and opinions? She can be quite open and accepting once you get to know her and vise versa."

"I don't know-"

I stopped and fully faced her, my hands firmly planted on her shoulders. "Please? Even if it's for 5 minutes, just go . . . for me?"

She exhaled. "Okay. But just for a little bit. At this point, I just feel like a burden." I couldn't help but crush her in a wide hug. I could hear her bell-like laugh at my reaction which only made my smile wider.

This girl was doing things to me . . . and I think I like it.

 **Here's a short one. Tryna' prove I'm still alive. I've been working on Scars & Tattoos in the meantime, as well as brainstorming for future fics and originals. With school starting soon, my abilities to write are limited. This story is coming up to one of 2 big climax's, so I'm tryna' pump those out. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 | I Sense There's Something in the Wind**

 **Moira's P.O.V**

I was in charge of transforming the Haunted Mansion into Nightmare Before Christmas, as is every year since I started working. And Milo always assisted me. And so, like always, I arrived right at closing, making sure all of the needed decorations were in their respectful areas, then sat on the front steps of the mansion, awaiting Milo's arrival … and waited … and waited … and waited. There was one moment where a figure was walking up to the mansion, so I sprung up with a relieved sigh and wide smile, but it turned out to be Dusk. Upon seeing him instead of Milo, my shoulders dropped and my smile faded quicker than a ghost.

At this point I grew mad, angry, disappointed, and annoyed. I could think of one inkling as to why Milo didn't bother showing, and it had something to do with that girl, Eleanor. He did spend the day with her, it wouldn't surprise me.

Seeing as the area was void of any other Cast Members and Imagineers, I summoned my wand, and nodded for Dusk to follow me. And he did so hesitantly, with an air of confusion surrounding him. "So you're not mad at me?" he asked.

I glanced up at him from untangling some Halloween garland. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"For being out of bed despite not being fully healed."

"Dusk, I can't control your life. If you feel well enough to be up and about, then I trust you. All I ask is that you don't force yourself, don't feel obligated to do anything because of me."

"Right .. right." He fidgeted with his hands, rocking on his heels as he kept glancing at me. "So where's Milo?" he asked quickly.

I flinched slightly at the mention of his name, and I know Dusk noticed because he winced. I shook my head. "He didn't bother showing up."

"Was he supposed to?"

"No, but we always did this together, it was like a tradition for us. And now, because that girl came out of nowhere …"

"I see, so you're jealous," he grinned, picking up some garland to help align them with the line que railings and light posts.

"I am not jealous! I've known him for practically my whole life! I'm just annoyed because it's completely out of character for him to stand me up without alerting me ahead of time." With 2 taps of my wand on the light post in front of us, the garland wrapped itself around it perfectly. "What's your opinion of Eleanor?"

"I don't have that much of an opinion of her. I just don't like how she weaseled her way into this. That's enough reason to not trust her. And if Milo gets hurt-"

I held up a hand to signal for him to stop. That was one thought I didn't want to think about. I got Milo into this mess, it's my responsibility to watch over him, to keep an eye on him, to protect him. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him and did nothing to prevent it from happening in the first place. "Let's drop the subject for now. We have a lot of work to do in very little time, so we can't afford distractions. Let's just have fun with it."

Dusk smiled and nodded his head in agreement. Throughout the night, we developed a pretty decent mechanism of him positioning a decoration, and me using magic to put it in its place.

And the night did turn out to be enjoyable. It was filled with mindless chatter and laughs. There was one moment where I was decorating the ballroom scene while Dusk stayed on the track above, and a horde of ghosts popped up from the long dining table, purposely scaring me, a small scream escaping me. Dusk only laughed and hollard down at me, "It's called the _Haunted_ Mansion!" I managed to get back at him later on by temporarily abandoning him in the largest scene of the attraction, and then activating a pop-up tombstone with a single flick of my wand, causing him to jump half a mile and shriek.

We finished the entire decorating process past 12:30 am. We were both a jumble of smiles, his arm lazily slung over my shoulder as we tumbled out of the attraction. Of course, I was all smiles until I saw a familiar figure approaching us, one I had ended up forgetting about.

Milo stopped in front of us, a grin of his own plastered on his lips. "I'm so sorry I'm so late. Something came up and I couldn't avoid it."

"It doesn't matter. We finished," I said with almost no emotion to my voice or face.

"Without me?"

"That's not exactly my fault. I couldn't put it off any longer than 45 minutes. Dusk was more than willing to assist me tonight. What I want to know is what you were doing that was so 'unavoidable.'"

A very subtle blush crept up his neck, and his feet shuffled. "Just had to take care of some work."

"Milo, you are a face character and a vendor. Unless you were attending some unofficial rehearsal that practically no one knew about, I think I have a right to know where you were." He avoided my gaze, his shoulders sinking. I could tell he was thinking up some excuse that would calm me down, but he should know that I have a Charm that allows me to see through any lie being thrown at me. And then I noticed his appearance. His hair was sticking up in random places, messy and unkempt. And his shirt wasn't buttoned correctly; there were 2 buttons in the wrong slots. "Oh, my god," I whispered, tension growing in my tone.

Dusk removed his arm from my shoulders and looked at me with concern. "What's wrong?"

"You didn't!"

"Didn't do what?" Milo asked. It was funny how he was still trying to play innocent when I now knew the truth. The messy attire, askew hair, the hot blush creeping up his neck and ear when being questioned about his whereabouts; I never thought he'd stoop this low.

"You slept with her! Are you fucking kidding me? You've barely known her for 2 days!"

"It just … happened!"

"Things like that don't just happen, Milo. I thought you had better common sense than that."

"Why do you even care?" He was starting to get heavily annoyed, an emotion he very rarely to never had.

"I care because she came into our lives out of nowhere and we still don't trust her! I'm trying to protect you!"

"Well there's no need for that. I can manage perfectly on my own."

"Oh, yeah, says the guy who keeps getting his ass cursed! What's gotten into you? Your never like this! This isn't you!"

"Yeah, well people change, Moira. It's not exactly unheard of."

"They don't change overnight. I swear, ever since you met her-"

"Why does it keep circling back to Ellie? You know, you've always been the jealous type-"

"Jealous? I'm looking out for your well-being!"

"Well don't! Because you're wasting your time!" This anger Milo was expressing, it worried and even frightened me. I have never seen him angry. It was unheard of. "I don't know why I bothered showing up," he muttered, turning around to leave.

"Why did you show up?" I spoke up.

Milo paused, his head hung in thought, while my breath stopped in anticipation. Maybe my Milo was still there. "I said I would. We always spend this night together, I didn't want to ruin that."

"But you did." Milo gives a heavy audible sigh, his body slouching in what seemed to be defeat, and he nodded. "Do you regret it?" I asked, my voice cracking.

I waited for a response, hesitantly, not really wanting to know the answer. But I guess my hope was given because instead of answering, he walked away, leaving Dusk and I alone on the steps of the Haunted Mansion.

Dusk escorted me back to my hotel room. We didn't speak the entire way there, nor did we run into Milo, which had to mean he either took a different route or already beat us there.

When I entered the room, it was vacant, which made my heart sink even more than it had. I had expected Dusk to go to his own room, but instead, he pulled me into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around my frame until the tips of his fingers touched his sides. My arms wrapped around his waist, and I buried my face into the crook of his neck, and him doing the same.

We held this position for 5 minutes straight. We didn't talk. We didn't try to look at each other. We just held each other in content comfort.

When we did finally break apart, he took my hand and led me to my bed. He sat down first, then tugged my arm for me to sit next to him, in which he then wrapped his arms around me again, laying us down. He reached over me to turn the lamp off, then pulled me in tighter, placing a gentle kiss to the back of my head.

I slept in peace knowing that despite that the closest person to me is drifting away, I still wasn't alone. Dusk has had my back in all of this, not just in the Saviour business, but in personal business, as well. And it was more than I could ever ask of him.

The next morning, Dusk and I awoke to a silent sunrise. We were both exhausted from the previous night, but we slapped on artificial smiles to get through the work day.

A part of me was hoping that Milo would approach me, maybe enter the room at some point or run into me on my way to the park, but he never did, possibly purposely avoiding me.

My first job today was to plant new fresh flowers in the Pixie Hollow area along the line que. It seemed easy enough, though the many different props, the low growing tree, and the large stream proved obstacles in my way.

The Autumn weather seemed to be lagging as the sun was beating down on me, allowing the dirt and soil to stick to my perspiring hands and arms.

I had just reached to my last bunch of flowers when a shadow hung over me. I turned to see who the stranger could be, but their voice beat me to it. "That's an aggressive way to plant flowers."

"Allister," I grinned. I stood up, dusting off excess soil from my hands. "Back again, I see."

"I just can't seem to stay away. It's the atmosphere, you see."

"As you've stated before."

"I hope these days aren't troubling you."

His comment about aggressive flower planting rang in my head. I didn't even notice I was practically stabbing the ground with my shovel. Perhaps last nights events were still subconsciously bothering me. "Of course not! I happen to be a fast diligent worker is all. Finish one job, got another to do."

Allister chuckled a bit causing me to grin. But our jovial moment was soon disrupted by the last girl I wanted to see. "Hello, Moira."

"Eleanor. What can I do for you?" She seemed to have not noticed Allister.

"I just wanted to say … I'm terribly sorry for my intrusion, and I understand if you hate me-"

"I don't hate you. Just the system." I glanced at Allister, noting that I couldn't say too much in front of him and had to paraphrase. "Our situation is very delicate and requires specific people to handle it. Your sudden inclusion just set us back a bit."

"I never meant to, I hope you know that."

"Oh, I'm trying." Her sweet voice was sickening to hear, and my Wand Charm kept pulsating, versus it's usual solid burning sensation.

"Hello, Eleanor, fancy seeing you around here."

Eleanor tensed, and her once soft stature faded to one of a void seriousness. "Allister." Her voice was cold.

"You know each other?" I asked.

"Quite," Allister answered. "We frequented each other quite a bit. We were quite … close."

"Oh, really? And what changed?"

"Well we were supposed to be-"

"I apologize, but I must be going now," Eleanor said quickly. "Perhaps I'll see you soon, Moira?"

"Erm … sure, though I'm not quite sure what we're doing tonight."

"Oh, that's alright. I'll be ready for anything. Oh, and Milo sends his best." And with that she sauntered away. That last bit though made my blood boil. She knew very well the situation I was in with Milo and was toying with it.

"I'd be careful with that one," Allister said.

"Believe me, I've been trying. We all have, that is except for my friend. He seems to be completely enchanted by her, though I don't know what he sees in her."

"I suggest to keep advising your friend to keep his distance."

"And what happens if I don't?"

"You may lose him to a White Widow."

 **Wow, I haven't uploaded in a year. So sorry about that! I've never been so inactive before. And I apologize of this chappie is short and rushed, I just really wanted to get something out there. Are we good? Good. Blessed be, y'all!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: It's Not Until You Lose Everything That You Can Truly Appreciate Everything**

I looked at Allister, my brows furrowed in confusion. I lightly shook my head, trying to process this new found information. "I'm sorry, a White .. what?"

His shoulders fell and he released a sigh of what could've been defeat or relief that I didn't know what a White Widow was. "Follow me," he deeply said, then turned around and began to walk off.

I was still a bit confused, so I ended up jogging after him. "Are you implying that Milo _is_ in some sort of danger?" I asked, a bit out of breath.

"Potentially. But it's possible for us to help him. And by us, I mean you."

"That's promising," I muttered.

Without a falter in his step, Allister looked down at me with a smirk. "What? Don't believe in yourself?"

"It's not that. It's just … it's just everyone is putting their trust into me, their hope, and dare I say, even prayers. Everyone is relying on me. It gets a bit overwhelming sometimes. I still don't know how to handle it."

"Well, from what I can gather, you've done quite well for yourself. No past Saviour has made it this far."

"So I've been told time and time again. But I've had help."

"So? There was only one other Saviour who had a partner besides Dusk, and even they didn't make it this far."

"Yeah? Well I plead shear luck."

"Or you just believe more than the others. I can see it in your eyes." His smirk grew into a cheeky grin, wide and proud. I only sent him a narrow glare.

"We'll just see how much I believe after you explain to me this current ordeal. Just from your body language alone it seems serious."

"At least it can grow serious. At the moment she's testing these shallow waters. And once her feet are wet enough, she'll dive deeper, and eventually take your friend with her."

"I'd appreciate it if you spoke english, please. This victorian talk is making me think things are or could be worse than they really are."

"Trust me, you're gonna wish this victorian talk is all you heard when I'm finished explaining it to you. But we need a private space away from prying ears, which is why we're going here."

We were now standing in front of the Haunted Mansion, which was absolutely flooded with guests. The wait time was 90 minutes and seemed to grow the later the day got. The attraction was opportune to ride at night. "And what exactly are we doing here?"

"Can you get us in?" I simply looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Did he not see the dozens of people elbow to elbow, filling up every corner of this attraction? It was standing room only, and hardly any people were moving in line as they were exiting.

Besides, I had never entered a ride whilst it was still operating. What if it didn't transform? I'd have to come up with some excuse as to why we were there. And what if it did transform and a bunch of people travelled with me? That would be hard to explain to Gordon.

I pushed my shoulders back, breathed in and out to clear my swirling mind, and approached the Cast Member standing at the gate. I showed her my Imagineer badge and she swiftly let us in. Upon approaching the doors of the mansion, I had to show them my badge again, but this time they stopped the flow of people entering the attraction to gain us easy access.

I stole a quick glance at Allister, then walked over the threshold.

It was dark, as it usually is during a transformation, but then again, this is a dark ride. The noise of chattering guests faded from existence until there was nothing but silence.

I stopped walking, my heartbeat fluttering heavily. I didn't know what to expect. This was the _Haunted_ Mansion. I'm expecting what the attraction gives you; ghosts, ghouls, malevolent spirits, and the such. But instead, when the darkness cleared, I found myself in the most dazzling mansion I had ever seen.

Everything was pristine, the color theme being chestnut brown mahogany and marble white. It was breathtaking to behold. "This … how …"

"It's not much, but it does me well."

"I gathered that you were a Toon once you mentioned Milo's endangerment, but this is a bit much."

"A Toon? Me? You flatter me, dear. I'm not an official Toon, hardly anyone knows of my proper existence, only the feet that hangs above them."

My head whipped towards Allister, who was now sitting in a shiny brown leather loveseat. That reference was just too obvious. "You're the hanging body?" When I entered to decorate last night, the hanging body in the portrait room was already gone. I didn't think much of it at the time, assuming another Imagineer took it down for me to make mt job a tad bit easier, but this revelation makes more sense.

"That's all anyone ever knows me as, it's quite dull. The holiday season is my only days out of the year that I can rest and enjoy the life I made for myself. Well, what's left of it. Now, I believe we came here to discuss business."

"Right. Now, for starters, where does Eleanor fit in to any of this? She seems very out of place."

"That's because she is. You see, this attraction is filled with spirits of good and bad intention. Eleanor rests right in the middle, just shadowing the bad side of the spectrum."

"She's from this attraction?"

"She was supposed to be my wife. But she was ultimately fooled, and she took her own life out of heartbreak. I followed soon after."

"You were in love …"

"Deeply."

"But why has she been fawning over Milo? And you called her a White Widow-"

"Eleanor isn't fond of the afterlife. She feels trapped here, a weeping spirit doomed to walk these halls indefinitely. I may even believe she regrets her death, it's the only sensible explanation for her actions. You see, Moira, Eleanor is simply building up a solid trust with your friend, and once she has him where she wants him, she'll bite, claiming him as her own, though only temporary."

"It doesn't matter if it's temporary or not, what does that mean for Milo?"

"If her plans succeed, she will have switched places with Milo, and he will be trapped here like she once was, while she is free to roam your reality, except on these celebratory occasions, of course."

My body and mind were plunged into shock. I didn't know what to say, I couldn't even move. My one attempt to just take a step forward sent me into a trembling mess and I ended up falling back into a second loveseat, facing Allister. At seeing my state, he jumped up from my seat and rushed towards me, taking my hand in his and squeezing it with reassurance, but what kind of reassurance was there? My best friend's life was in jeopardy … and I couldn't help but blame myself. I brought him into this mess, on more than one occasion he had been put in dangers way, and this seemed to be the worst. The Love Spell seems like child's play compared to this.

"I know it seems like all is lost, but I can assure you-"

"Assure me? Milo is having flings with his potential murderer! How is any of this okay? How can you assure me that any of this is going to be okay?"

"Because there is a definitive way to stop her. But I warn you, it is highly dangerous and risky."

I rose out my seat, eyes wide at him in excitement and anxiousness. "What it is?" I rushed out. I must've looked and sounded crazed. And he began to look wary at me.

"Moira, this task is very dangerous. I doubt even you could accomplish it."

"I'd do anything to save my best friend. Even if it means putting my life in danger. After all I've been through, I doubt it'll phase me. Please, Allister … how can I stop this?"

Allister looked deep into my eyes, seemingly searching for something. It could've been the belief he mentioned early, the piece of Walt I supposedly carry with me. And when he found it, he relaxed a bit, but stayed alert, not once breaking his intense eye contact. "At the very top of the mansion is a balcony. It faces the ocean, meant for a guiding light for my ship when I returned from my endeavors. It had become cursed after Eleanor and I sought our demise .. and there lays a Charm."

"A Charm?"

"Now hold on, Moira. It's not as easy as it seems. This mansion rests in a never ending storm, and that balcony is where the worst of it occurs."

"Show it to me."

"Now Moira-"

"Show it to me! Please, don't you understand? Milo is all I have! If lifting this curse brings him back to me, then I don't care how dangerous it is! Please … I miss him."

He looked apprehensive at me, before reluctantly standing up and nodding for me to follow after him, no words being exchanged.

As I followed, my heart rate increased with each step. I haven't collected a new Charm in a while, and it was refreshing to be able to find another one.

Several staircases later, we were standing before an old rickety wooden door. Allister put a hand on the handle and turned back towards me. "Be sure to keep your distance. This area is hardly stable, even for an old Ghoul." The creaked open, and my eyes widened at the sight, my bones freezing.

It was an old balcony with a lone tall table in the middle, and where a decorative lamp should've been facing the ocean was a Candelabra Charm. Surrounding us was indeed the worst rainstorm I have ever seen with constant lightning strikes. I attempted to take a step forward, my hand stretched out to grab the Charm, but a strike of lightning hit inches from my fingertips causing me to jump back in alarm. "I told you it was fruitless," said Allister. "It would be a miracle if you could break this Curse."

"I've broken many before. What makes this one any special?"

"Your courage and confidence is admirable."

"Really? I'm having trouble believing in it." Allister stepped the both of us backwards, closing the door. There was instant silence, no more sounds of rumbling thunder or thundering rain. "What exactly do I have to do?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I simply don't know. No one has ever attempted this task, or has lived to finish it. There's so many spirit's here for a reason. But belief is key. I can see that belief in your eyes, and if you keep on believing that this is doable, then I can assure you it can be done."

"It seems more than just that. I can't just believe something into existence."

"Why not? You've done it before."

 **Heyo! I got myself confused writing this, but I eventually understood it once I began transferring it to here, but if any of y'all gets confused, let me know and I'll edit it. Slan!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 | How Lucky Am I to Have Something that Makes Saying Goodbye so Hard**

A very common thing I did was repair blown out light bulbs in street lamps, and the one I was currently working on was in Main Street. I stood on a tall ladder with Dusk holding it steady.

I let out a cough after I had taken out the blown light bulb, having to hang onto the neck of the lamp as a small wave of dizziness hit me. "I really think you should go to your room and rest," Dusk stated from below. "Maybe take a few days off."

"And I think you should drop it and leave me alone! I told you I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've worked through a cold."

"But this seems a bit more severe than a cold. I just don't want you to be working on some intense ride like Space Mountain, go into a coughing fit, and end up falling onto something that could significantly injure you, like the tracks or open machinery. You just barely managed to hang onto that lamp."

"Oh, bugger off! I'm just about-" An unexpected sneeze escaped me just as I twisted the bulb into place, forcing me to grab onto the ladder. I cautiously climbed down, my legs shaking with every step, and when I reached the ground, I released a sigh.

Dusk raised a brow. "See what I mean? You're not well. If Gordon saw you, he'd force you on sick leave."

"Well Gordon's not here."

"But I am! And as your Guardian, I am demanding you to go back to your room until I say otherwise!" I crossed my arms angrily and shook my head. "My god, you're stubborn." Dusk then looked past me, seemingly looking for something, or rather someone, and when he found them, his eyes lit up. "Milo!"

I froze, my heart beat instantly picking up pace. "What are you doing?" I hissed.

"If you won't go quietly, I'll have to use force. You brought this on yourself." I hadn't felt Milo's presence in what felt like forever, and to feel him standing next to me was comforting, solidifying just how much I missed him. Seeing him around the park was a rarity nowadays, and I'm almost positive it has been Eleanors doing. She was probably doing all she could to keep us separated so I couldn't interfere with her plans. God, every time I did get to see her she'd flash me a sickly sweet smile, a smile I had the urge to slap off of her, but I restrained myself however hard it was to do so seeing how Milo had feelings for her.

"What's going on?" Milo asked Dusk. He then looked towards me. "What's up with you?"

"She's severely sick," Dusk answered for me. "She's not listening to me, so I need you to escort her back to her room. Lock her in there if you have to, just make sure she's in bed and resting."

Milo nodded once, then took me by the arm and began to lead me to the hotel. I didn't bother fighting him if it meant some time with him, not to mention I felt very fatigued.

The walk was silent until we got to our, or rather my room. While he closed the door, I proceeded to sit atop my bed, my back towards him. "You should take better care of yourself," he said from behind me. "Did those yearly hospital trips not teach you a lesson on overworking yourself."

"Don't act like you care." I didn't face him.

"Moira, I do care about you." I heard him walk towards me, taking a seat on the other side of the bed. "I know we haven't see much of each other lately-"

"That's not my fault."

"But that doesn't mean I don't think about you .. or miss you."

"Then why haven't you made the effort to see me like I've been trying to see you?"

"I have, but-"

"Don't make excuses! Because I'm tired of them!" I was fully facing him, on my feet, trembling whether it was because of the cold or anger, I couldn't tell which. But Milo did hold traces of fear. "What happened to always being there for each other? What happened to always having each others back? I'm sure you're not even aware of the progress I've made, the information I've uncovered. Hell, do you even care that I've found another Charm?"

"You … you have?"

"Oh, now I'm so interesting, aren't I? You may not see it, but she's got you wrapped around your finger."

"Who? Eleanor?"

"Amazing how she's the first girl to pop into your head. I could've been talking about anyone."

"Look, I know you have your opinions about her, but she really isn't all that bad as you make her out to be."

I scoffed. "If only you knew the information I dug up on her, then you'd really change your mind. Or go against me and call me an insane jealous liar like you have been. You've been pretty hard to read lately."

"What information? Do you know something I don't?"

He quickly scrambled to his feet and approached me, holding me tightly by my forearms. "Wouldn't you like to know," I said deeply. I pulled myself out of his grip and turned away from him. "Just go."

I sensed his hesitation as he went to approach me again, going to lay a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged him off. "Moira .. please, just … just talk to me-"

"No! Don't even play that card with me! I've tried multiple times and you refused to listen! So I'm done!" I doubled over in a coughing fit. I had one hand the bed and the other over my mouth. Milo went to help me, but I put a hand up to stop him from coming any closer. "Just go."

He sighed, his shoulder deflating in defeat. He then slowly walked towards the door, opened it, and paused. He turned his head towards me, went to say something, but shook his head against it. And just like that, the door shut behind him, and I was alone. Again.

I let my emotions get the best of me and I collapsed onto the bed, tears cascading down my face and painful silent sobs escaping my lips.

I was scared. For the first time since this all began, I was scared. Terrified. I couldn't bare the thought of losing Milo. He was all I had left.

As I laid there, I felt my fatigue starting to take over and my eyes grew heavy. With the final thing I felt being a cold windy draft, I drifted off to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 | The Nightmare Experiment**

I felt someone tapping my cheeks in a rushed manor, like quick pats on either side. "Wake up, Saviour! Come on, we've got to get this under way! Get up, up, up!" The voice wasn't anyone I recognized. It was male, and almost reminded me of the Dream Finder, but when I lazily opened my eyes and my vision cleared, he was anything but. The man hovering over me gave off the appearance of a victorian steampunk cyborg. He wore a full body apron that held dozens of mechanical tools over a white long sleeved shirt, sported a small black mustache, a top hat, a mechanical eye, and a mechanical arm. Seeing I was awake, his face lit up. "Splendid, splendid! Took you long enough. Up you go!"

He lowered his artificial arm to help me up, in which I accepted. Once standing, I observed my surroundings. I was in a crowded laboratory filled with unidentifiable machinery. There was even a tank with 2 humans floating in a green substance. I turned towards the man, a bit weary. "Where exactly am I?"

"Why, you're in my Royal Laboratory For the Scientific Study of Phantasmagorian Phenomena! I am Professor J. T. Wu, pleased to make your acquaintance, dear Saviour." He shook my hand firmly, yet eagerly.

"Charmed." I pulled my hand from his. "Why exactly am I here? I may be a skilled mechanic, but not this skilled."

"Well, you see, I am in need of a test subject, and you so happened to be the perfect specimen."

I paled. "Test subject? For-for what?"

"I had the pleasure of discovering realms in which contain the nightmarish counterparts of our Toon Reality. And what I need you to do, my Saviour, is to venture into these realms whilst I monitor you. Simple as that!"

"You could've gotten anyone else to do it, including yourself! Why am I singled out?"

"I'm afraid you'd be the only one to keep yourself together whilst in there." He walked over to what looked to be a control panel similar to one's I've managed for attractions and began to fiddle with it, pushing a handful of buttons and pulling on a couple of levers.

I began to rub my eyes furiously, until I felt them burn. This had to be a dream. Dusk must've been right in saying that I was much more sick than I thought, and this was all some weird fever dream. But when I removed my hands, I was still in the lab.

Before me was a large circular door that closely resembled that of a bank vault. It slowly opened, allowing a thick white mist to fill the room. "What's even through there? Do you even know where I'll be sent?"

"Haven't the foggiest," Wu shrugged. Through the mist, an elegantly dressed woman wearing a Mardi Gras mask and holding a lit lantern emerged. "Hello, there, my sweet!" Wu greeted the woman. "It seems that there's someone already waiting for you on the other side, dear Saviour."

"And who exactly would that be?"

"That's for you to find out. All I can do now is wish you luck and hope for the best." He pushed me towards the woman, who then held a hand out for me to take. I looked back at Wu, who only gestured for me to continue, then back at the woman, taking her hand in mine, in which she led me through the mist.

Within a blink, I wasn't in the lab, but a bayou. It was dark. The woman and I stood on a rickety old wooden bridge over a swamp with willow trees scattered about. "This way," the woman said, walking ahead of me. I decided to stay a few paces behind her in case she happened to be untrustworthy.

At the end of the bridge was a small hut. Upon reaching the door, the woman stopped me from entering. Facing me, she removed her mask, revealing a bald head with red veins snaking about her scalp. The sight was enough to make me jump in alarm.

The woman reached out towards me, specifically my chest. I went rigid and held my breath, thinking she was aiming to strangle me right then and there, a common theme Villains tended to have with me, but instead delicately lifted my Charm necklace from beneath my shirt. "Be warned, to ensure no interferences may occur, this kind of magic will have no power here." She then let go of the necklace and proceeded to open the door to the hut.

I poked my head in, seeing it empty. I decided to at least step over the threshold, which caused the door to immediately slam shut. I whipped around, alarmed once more, and tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn't budge. I was locked in here.

The only source of light came from the tiny lights that lit up the foot of the small stage at the very back of the hut. On the walls hung tribal masks that seemed to follow my every movement.

"Well, well! Miss Saviour arrives!" Spinning to face the stage, I saw Dr. Facilier grinning down at me, leaning on his cane. "How've you been since our last visit?"

I huffed, approaching the foot of the stage. "If you must know, not too well."

"I heard about your friend. That there's a hard situation to get out of."

"News seems to spread around here like a wildfire. I don't suppose you have any bright tips, do ya?"

His grin widened to reveal perfect white teeth. "I was hoping you'd ask." He held his hand out to allow a stack of cards to fly into it. After shuffling them, he held them out to me. "Pick one."

I raised a brow at him. "Really? You're going to play that card?"

"A card can't be played if you haven't picked one yet." With a roll of my eyes, I randomly picked a card from the middle and held it out for him to observe. "The card of The Moon! Excellent choice!"

"What does it mean?"

He slid the rest of his cards into his jacket sleeve. "Say, have I introduced you to a friend of mine?"

"I frankly don't care about your friends! What I want to know is where I am, what's going on, and what this damn card-" From the stage floor emerged a shadow demon, and within its grasp was a long rectangular piece of cloth, in which it held in front of Facilier. "Hey! No more games! I want answers!" I climbed onto the stage and ripped away the cloth, but instead of Facilier, a door rested where he once stood.

" _The answers lie ahead._ "

The door creaked led open, allowing more white mist to fill the hut. This time, an undead skeletal Jack Sparrow emerged and gestured for me to enter. As I was in no mood to be anywhere near him, I sidled my way in, my back not facing the skeleton until I was fully inside of the room, which was a dimly lit cell block.

I proceeded down the narrow corridor with caution, my head whipping to eye each cell on either side of me, which held a skeleton each. Upon reaching the end, there was another door, but before I could touch the knob, a skeleton from my left jumped out at me, causing me to scream at the sudden attempted attack. I was backed into another cell, in which another skeleton wrapped its arms around me, its raspy wheezing voice crying in my ear, " _His body will hang in despair forever._ "

"No!" I screamed, thrashing from side to side until I broke free of the skeletons grasp and bolted through the next door right into open darkness, until I ran into a wall, smacking me back a few steps.

I gripped my pounding head and groan out in pain, "I just want this to be over!"

Raising my head, I see that I hadn't run head first into a wall, but a giant dresser. "What the-" I began, but was cut off as I was dragged backwards by the back of my shirt, releasing a squeak of surprise.

A single bright white light shined over me, making me momentarily look away. Once my eyes adjusted, I was face to face with Babyface. I frantically felt for whatever force had a hold of me, and felt a plastic hook pierced through my shirt.

Babyface started to crawl towards me, its metallic spider legs landing threateningly hard with each step. And with each step, I struggled to free myself, but the more I did struggle, the more I was raised into place; I was almost being lifted off the ground.

As one of Babyface's spider legs came down dangerously close to my head, I felt my hand being tugged. Looking towards my left, it was a doll with black button eyed and 6 arms. She was thankfully trying to pull me free, but with no such luck.

I was now hovering above the ground, having to pull the neck of my shirt forward so I wouldn't choke, but this small action sprung an idea. "Back up!" I called down to the doll. She did as I instructed, and I managed to lift my arms and shimmy out of my shirt and land freely on the ground. The doll took my hand and rushed me to another door, pushing me through and shutting it closed.

"Thank you!" I called after her, but was only greeted by silence.

I turned around and had to hold in my scream as another character stood before me; the white rabbit. "Oh, Miss Saviour, you've made it within the knick of time! You must come with me, it's quite urgent!"

He pulled me after him quickly. I was now outdoors walking along a pure green grass path next to a rounded white building. At the end of the path stood a red card soldier. "Mind telling me where I am?"

From within the building, someone pounded on the window, making me jump back. It was the Mad Hatter, though in this case, he truly did seem mad. It looked like he was in an asylum. "McTwisp has brought a guest!" he cackles. "And my, what a pretty guest she is!" It was in this moment I remembered that I was shirtless and clad in just a sports bra and work pants, so I crossed my arms over my chest and torso to cover myself the best I could.

"It seems that old Hightopp has lost his head," the Rabbit woefully said.

"Doesn't look like he's the only one," I muttered to myself, seeing that past the crazed Hatter sat a long table where a tea party would be held, each chair holding a headless stuffed animal.

"Perhaps you could talk some sense into him! I've heard you're quite good at it."

"Oh, I don't think-"

"I insist!" The Rabbit eagerly pushed me towards the asylums door, in which the card soldier opened, allowing the Rabbit to push me inside.

The Hatter looked at me with a twisted smile. "Come, come, sit! Join us!" He forced me to sit at the head of the table, where he began to fix a cup up tea, but amidst doing so, he paused and abruptly grabbed at his hat and pulled down on it, muttering incoherently to himself.

Worried, I went to place a comforting hand on his arm. Upon contact, he gripped my wrist so tight it hurt. "What are you doing?"

He cackles again, much more madly. He then pulled a long red scarf from his pocket and began to wrap it around my neck. "It seems to me that the voices claim you'd look much more pretty without this head of yours."

From behind him, the Hatter retrieved a pair of hedge clippers, wielding it maniacally. I immediately stood up, my hand hovering over my Mickey Charm, backing up cautiously. "Now, Hatter, relax," I said calmly. "Let's not do anything too rash."

He raised the clippers high above his head, then went to push them down towards my neck, but I managed to grip the handle and push back, in which he pushed harder, causing me to be lowered to the ground until I was flat on my back.

I felt the blade of the clippers graze my skin and I winced, swallowing hard. Looking up fearfully at the madman, he said, " _If you don't hurry now, he will lose his head! She will make sure he is surely dead!_ "

 _SNIP!_

I awoke with a start, panting heavily. I felt hot, dizzy, and I trembled uncontrollably.

Frantically looking around, I saw I was back in my hotel room. With a relieved sigh, I sunk back down, relaxing into the mattress trying to catch my breath.

Beside me, I finally noticed Dusk and Milo looking at me with pure fear and worry. "Definitely more than a cold."

 **The Nightmare Experiment is indeed a haunted maze that used to have a home in Hong Kong Disneyland. The maze's sequel will be incorporated as well in a couple chapters from this one.**


End file.
